♦ ♦ INFORMATION  ♦ ♦ 


CONCERNING  THE 


A 


1 City  of  Tacoma  ! 

it  rr  • • • 


i 


AND 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY. 


i 

i • 


FROM  THE  OFFICE  OF 


ALLEN  C.  MASON 


l^oai)  Broker. 


MA30K  BLOCK,  TACOMA,  W.  T. 


PORTLAND,  OR. : 

A.  ANDERSON  & CO.,  PRINTERS. 
1888. 


-t- 5 

PRESENTED 

WITH  THE 

COMPLIMENTS 

OF  THE 

PUBLISHER . 


£ 


V 


A. — S,  vS  DINE  TO  ALASKA, 


B.  — CAN.  PAC.  STR.  DINE. 

C.  — ROUTE  PROM  CHINA  AND  JAPAN. 


D.  —ROUTE  TO  MEXICO  AND  SOUTH  AjS 

E. — STR.  DINE  TO  VICTORIA. 

E. — S.  S.  DINE  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


Tacoma,  Washington  Territory. 


The  Transportation  and  Manufacturing  Centre  and  Leading 

WHEAT,  COAL,  COKE  AND  LUMBER 

Shipping  Port  of  the  Northwest. 


c0UPEND/aiJ^O 


OF 


♦ ♦ INFORMATION  ♦ ♦ 


CONCFRNING  THF 


City  of  Tacoma 


AND 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY. 


FROM  THE  OFFICE  OF 


ALLEN  C.  MASON, 

loai?  Broker. 


MASON  BLOCK,  TACOMA,  W.  T. 


PORTLAND,  OR.: 

A.  ANDERSON  & CO.,  PRINTERS. 
1888. 


The  City  of  Tacoma  is  the  Western  Terminus  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  located  at  the  Head  of  Navi- 
gation on  Puget  Sound,  and  offers  opportunities  for 
Profitable  Investments  in  Real  Estate  equal  to  those  of- 
fered by  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Denver  and  Duluth,  half 
a score  of  years  ago. 

Fortunes  have  been  made  by  judicious  investments 
placed  near  those  and  other  cities,  and  the  same  experi- 
. ence  can  be  repeated  in  Tacoma. 


Washington  Territory 


IN  GENERAL. 


II  WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  British 
Columbia,  on  the  east  by  Idaho,  on  the  south  by  Oregon,  and  on 
the  west  by  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  comprises  an  area  of  69,994  square  miles, 
of  which  3,114  are  water,  leaving  66,880  square  miles  of  land  surface;  of 
which  it  is  estimated  that  about  20,000,000  acres  are  in  timber  lands, 
5,000,000  acres  rich  alluvial  bottom  lands,  and  10,000,000  are  prairies  and 
plains.  The  Cascade  Range  of  mountains  extend  across  the  entire  Terri- 
tory, north  to  south,  dividing  the  Territory  into  two  sections  (of  which  the 
eastermost  is  much  the  larger),  and  renders  direct  communication  between 
the  two  sections  in  the  middle  and  northern  portions  of  the  Territory  im- 
practicable for  teams,  except  during  the  summer  seasons,  when  the  Sno- 
qualmie  and  other  mountain  passes  are  frequently  traveled  by  herdsmen 
driving  their  cattle  to  the  Sound.  Communication  is  carried  on  by  means 
of  the  Cascade  branch  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad. 

The  assessed  valuation  of  the  property  in  Washington  Territory  for 
the  year  1880  was  $23,708,587.  For  1886  the  assessed  valuation  of  the 
property  in  the  Territory  was  $50,683,896,  showing  again  of  about  125 
per  cent.,  and  for  1887  it  was  $56,177,453,  showing  a gain  of  over  ten  per 
cent  in  one  year.  The  above  figures  do  not  include  railroad  property. 
The  population  of  the  Territory  as  estimated  by  the  Governor  is  162,076 
for  the  year  1887. 

The  fertile  cereal-producing  prairie  lands  and  plains  are  situated  in  the 
eastern  part,  and  nearly  all  the  rich,  alluvial  bottom  lands  are  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  Territory. 

The  scenery  of  the  Cascade  Range  is  indescribably  grand,  affording 
views  of  such  colossal  peaks  as  Mount  Baker,  Mount  Tacoma,  Mount 
Saint  Helens  and  Mount  Adams.  Another  beautiful  range  of  mountains 
of  lesser  height,  called  the  Olympic,  lies  along  the  coast  between  Puget 
Sound  and  the  Pacific,  affording  a delightful  prospect  from  the  Sound  and 
its  vicinity. 

The  picturesque  attractions  of  this  country,  with  its  glacier-covered 
mountains,  its  waterfalls,  its  majestic  winding  rivers,  with  their  precipit- 


6 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


ous  bluffs,  its  mighty  expanse  of  inland  island-dotted  sea,  its  deep,  broad, 
forest-bordered  lakes,  certainly  furnish  a new  and  interesting  field  for  the 
tourists  and  the  artist. 

The  great  Columbia  river,  rising  in  the  vast  water-shed  just  north  of 
the  eastern  part  of  the  Territory,  receives  the  copious  waters  of  Clarke’s 
Fork,  flowing  fresh  from  the  Rockies  through  Take  Pend  d’ Oreille,  then 
the  Okinagon  and  other  considerable  streams,  making  its  great  bend  to  the 
westward,  and  thence  flowing  southeasterly , is  joined  by  its  great  affluents, 
the  Yakima  and  Snake  rivers,  thus  traversing  the  entire  eastern  section 
referred  to;  then  flows  along  the  southern  border  of  the  Territory,  receiv- 
ing the  Lewis  and  Cowlitz  rivers  west  of  the  Cascade  Range,  and  empties 
into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  affords  great  facilities  for  commercial  traffic,  and 
abounds  in  delicious  fish. 

Just  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  is  Shoalwater  Bay, 
which  has  a good  entrance  from  the  ocean  and  is  full  of  shoals  and  flats. 
The  latter  are  covered  with  oysters,  thousands  of  baskets  of  which  are 
annually  shipped  to  various  cities  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  Herring,  codfish, 
halibut  and  sturgeon  also  there  abound. 

Twenty-five  miles  farther  north  is  Gray’s  Harbor,  having  an  excellent 
entrance  from  the  ocean,  bordered  with  extensive  and  valuable  forests  of 
fir  and  cedar,  receiving  the  Chehalis  river  from  the  east,  and  the  Huntu- 
lup,  Wishkah  and  Hoquium  rivers  from  the  north,  which  drain  great  fer- 
tile valleys. 

CLIMATE. 

It  is  not  so  very  long  ago  that  it  was  almost  unanimously  believed 
that  the  whole  of  this  northwest  region  was  a barbarous,  uncivilized 
country,  the  home  of  savage  Indians  and  ferocious  wild  beasts,  where  no 
unsuspecting  intruder  would  be  safe  from  the  disfiguring  scalping- knife  or 
the  hug  of  the  grizzly.  It  was  asserted  on  every  hand  as  an  uncontrover- 
tible fact  that  the  climate  was  so  cold  as  to  be  almost  arctic,  and  the  peo- 
ple in  the  latitude  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  where  the 
rivers  are  hermetically  sealed  by  ice  for  months  in  the  year,  positively  stood 
aghast  at  the  idea  of  going  so  far  north  as  what  we  now  know  as  Wash- 
ington Territory.  Their  idea  of  climate  was  of  the  simplest  nature;  with 
them  south  meant  heat — north,  the  reverse.  As  an  absolute  truth,  how- 
ever, the  climate  of  Washington  Territory  is  mild  and  equable — as  mild 
as  that  of  Virginia  and  at  the  same  time  exempt  from  its  extremes  of  heat 
and  cold.  This  difference  is  caused  by  the  Japan  current  which  flows 
from  the  South  Pacific  ocean  to  the  North  and  Easterly,  set  in  upon  the 
northern  coast  of  California  and  rushing  northward  as  far  as  British 
Columbia,  modifies  the  climate  of  the  North  Pacific  coast  in  the  same 
manner  that  the  Atlantic  Gulf  stream  tempers  the  climate  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


7 


Changes  are  not  violent,  for  summer  comes  and  goes  almost  imper- 
ceptibly. Hot  nights  are  unknown,  while  during  the  day  the  temperature 
rarely  ranges  above  90  degrees,  this  mitigation  being  the  effect  of  the  cool, 
fresh  breath  of  the  sea  that  laves  the  Western  shore  of  the  territory.  The 
chief  feature  of  winter  is  rain,  but  there  is  always  an  intermission  of  pleas- 
ant weather,  lasting  for  a month  sometimes.  These  wet  seasons  are  not 
drenching,  downpours  of  heavy  rain,  but  are  as  a rule  gentle  showers, 
working  much  good  to  the  soil  and  fitting  it  for  the  reception  of  seed.  In 
the  coldest  weather  the  mercury  seldom  touches  zero,  while  snow  rarely 
remains  on  the  ground,  and  then  only  in  the  unexposed  quarters,  for  more 
than  a few  weeks  at  a time;  indeed  a heavy  fall  of  snow  is  rather  the  ex- 
ception than  the  rule.  In  the  summer  months  the  land  is  fanned  by  gen- 
tle breezes  wafted  from  the  ocean,  while  heavy  gales  and  violent  storms, 
save  on  the  coast,  are  unremembered  by  the  oldest  inhabitant.  The  temp- 
erate and  genial  climate,  especially  in  its  freedom  from  the  sudden  varia- 
tions which  prevail  elsewhere  has  much  to  do  with  the  general  healthful- 
ness of  the  Pacific  Northwest.  A comparison  of  the  rates  of  mortality  in 
Washington  Territory  with  those  in  the  older  states  shows  greatly  in  favor 
of  the  former,  while  there  is  absolutely  no  prevailing  type  of  disease  in  the 
region,  which  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  excellence  of  the  water  as  much 
as  to  the  climate.  The  liquid  is  to  be  found  in  its  pristine  purity  in  every 
river,  creek,  brook  and  spring  in  the  territory,  and  it  never  requires  prep- 
aration to  make  it  fit  for  household  uses. 


Western  Washington 

IN  GENERAL. 


Ily  ESTERN  WASHINGTON  embraces  all  of  the  Territory  lying 
between  the  Cascade  mountains  and  the  Pacific  Coast.  Its  climate 
differs  widely  from  that  of  Eastern  Washington,  the  winters  being  milder 
and  the  summers  cooler.  There  is  very  little  snow  in  winter  and  a good 
deal  of  rain.  Spring  opens  in  February.  The  summers  are  never  excess- 
ively hot,  although  there  is  almost  unbroken  sunshine.  The  autumns  are 
pleasant,  and  the  fine  weather  lasts  until  December.  With  the  exception 
of  a few  small  prairies  and  river  bottoms,  the  whole  surface  of  the  country 
was  originally  heavily  timbered,  and  most  of  it  is  still  in  that  condition. 
Settlement  was  first  made  in  the  valleys  of  the  streams  where  clearing 
was  comparatively  easy,  or  on  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound  where  lumber- 
ing operations  were  profitable. 


8 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


The  climate  and  soil  of  Western  Washington  are  favorable  to  the  suc- 
cessful raising  of  wheat,  oats,  rye  and  all  the  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone. 
Wheat  is  raised  to  some  extent,  but  oats  is  the  chief  grain  crop.  White 
clover  is  a native  grass,  and  red  clover  and  timothy  prodce  luxuriant  crops. 

The  general  character  of  the  soil  may  be  described  as  follows:  In  the 
valleys  it  is  a dark  loam,  containing  a large  proportion  of  vegetable  mould, 
and  having  a clay  subsoil.  In  the  bottom  lands  near  the  water  courses, 
it  usually  consists  of  rich  deposits  of  alluvium.  Of  such  lands  there  are 
often  large  tracts  of  great  fertility,  termed  beaver-dam  lands  which,  as  the 
name  indicates,  have  been  formed  by  the  labor  of  this  busy  amphibious 
rodent  during  countless  centuries.  The  constituents  of  this  soil  are 
earthly  deposits  or  humus  of  greath  depth,  producing  from  decayed  vege- 
table growths.  All  these  various  soils  are  of  wonderful  productive  ca- 
pacity. Under  cultivation  they  are  quick,  light  and  friable,  yielding  aston- 
ishing crops  of  hay,  hops,  grain,  fruits  and  vegetables  for  a series  of  years 
without  manure  and  with  only  indifferent  plowing.  The  ability  of  the 
clay  subsoil  to  retain  moisture  explains,  to  some  extent,  the  enduring 
quality  of  the  land.  The  bottoms  are  mainly  covered  with  a deciduous 
growth  of  hazel,  cherry,  thorn,  vine-maple,  alder  and  crab-apple  with 
only  occasional  firs  and  pineS,  and,  as  a rule,  are  confined  to  nar- 
row valleys.  Unlike  prairie  lands  they  must  be  cleared,  at  a cost  varying 
from  $15  to  $50  per  acre,  before  they  can  be  plowed.  Usually,  however, 
the  wood  and  lumber  thus  secured  will  pay  for  the  work,  and  the  farmer 
will  afterwards  find  his  reward  in  the  abundance  of  his  crops. 

The  soil  of  the  uplands  is  fertile,  but  somewhat  inferior  to  that  of  the 
river  bottoms.  That  of  the  undulating  foot-hills  and  more  tillable  moun- 
tain-faces are  red,  brown  or  black  loam.  The  more  elevated  lands  afford 
excellent  natural  pasturage,  and  also  produce  good  crops  of  grain  and  the 
hardier  fruits  and  vegetables. 


Puget  Sound 

IK  GENERAL. 


PUGET  SOUND  is  a great,  deep  inland  sea,  extending  nearly  200 
square  miles  from  the  ocean,  having  a surface  of  about  2,000  square 
miles,  and  a shore  line  of  about  1,594  miles,  indented  with  numerous 
bays,  harbors  and  inlets,  each  with  its  peculiar  name,  and  contains  numer- 
ous islands  inhabited  by  farmers,  lumbermen,  herdsmen  and  those  en- 
gaged in  quarrying  lime  and  building  stone.  Admiral  Charles  Wilkes  has 
described  this  pride  of  Washington  Territory  as  follows: 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


9 


Nothing  can  surpass  the  beauty  of  these  waters  and  their  safety.  Not  a shoal 
exists  within  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  Admiralty  Bay,  or  Hood’s  jCanal  that  can 
in  any  way  interrupt  their  navigation  by  a seventy-four  gun  ship.  I venture  nothing 
in  saying  that  there  is  no  country  in  the  world  that  possesses  waters  equal  to  these; 
they  cover  an  area  of  about  2000  square  miles;  the  shores  of  all  its  inlets  and  bays 
are  remarkably  bold,  so  much  so  that  a ship’s  side  would  strike  the  shore  before  her 
keel  would  touch  the  ground. 

The  country  by  which  these  waters  are  surrounded  is  remarkably  salubrious, 
and  affords  every  advantage  for  the  accommodation  of  a vast  commercial  and  mili- 
tary marine,  with  convenience  for  docks,  and  a great  many  sites  for  towns  and  cities, 
at  all  times  well  supplied  with  water,  and  capable  of  being  well  provided  with  every- 
thing by  the  surrounding  country,  which  is  well  adapted  for  agriculture. 

The  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  are  95  miles  in  length  and  have  an  average  width  of 
11  miles.  At  the  entrance (8  miles  in  width)  no  danger  exists,  and  it  may  be  safely 
navigated  throughout. 

No  part  of  the  world  affords  finer  inlands,  sounds,  or  a greater  number  of  har- 
bors than  are  found  within  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  capable  of  receiving  the 
largest  class  of  vessels  and  without  a danger  in  them  that  is  not  visible.  From  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  (18  feet),  every  facility  is  offered  for  the  erection  of  works  of 
a great  maritime  nation. 

The  country  also  affords  as  many  facilities  for  water  power  as  any  other. 

On  this  Sound  are  already  situated  thriving  towns  and  cities,  bidding 
for  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

On  the  eastern  part  of  the  Sound  are  situated  two  important  fresh 
water  lakes  of  great  depth  and  beauty,  and  bordered  by  great  forests  and 
rich  deposits  of  coal.  Lake  Union,  the  smaller  of  these,  having  an  area 
of  six  square  miles,  six  miles  shore  line,  and  an  average  depth  of  75  feet, 
is  one  and  a quarter  miles  distant  from  the  Sound,  and  is  connected  with 
it  by  a small  stream  entering  Salmon  bay.  The  eastern  shore  of  Lake 
Union  is  separated  from  Lake  Washington  by  a low  isthmus  1,600  feet 
wide.  Lake  Washington  has  an  area  of  60  square  miles,  75  miles  of  shore 
line,  and  an  average  depth  of  200  feet,  with  numerous  landlocked  harbors. 
This  lake  is  connected  by  a slough,  navigable  for  small  steamers,  with 
Sammamish  Lake  (nine  miles  long),  and  drains  a country  rich  in  natural 
resources. 

The  most  important  rivers  emptying  into  Puget  Sound  are  as  follows: 
The  Des  Chutes,  emptying  into  Budd’s  Inlet,  at  Olympia,  notable  for  its 
fall  and  its  water  power;  the  Puyallup,  flowing  through  a rich  valley, 
mainly  devoted  to  hop  culture,  into  Commencement  Bay,  near  Tacoma; 
the  navigable  Duwamish,  with  its  tributaries,  the  White,  Black  and  Cedar 
rivers,  fertilizing  rich  bottom  lands,  which  enters  Elliott  Bay  near  Seattle; 
the  navigable  Snohomish,  with  its  tributary,  the  Snoqualmie,  which  makes 
a sublime,  perpendicular  leap  of  270  feet,  celebrated  as  the  Snoqualmie 
Falls;  the  Skagit,  also  navagable  and  fertile  in  its  surroundings;  the  Swin- 
omish,  entering  into  Belingham  Bay;  the  Lummi,  which  has  the  Nooksachk 
for  its  tributary,  and  also  enters  into  Bellingham  Bay.  Near  the  outlet  of 
the  latter  stream  are  the  reclaimed  tide  lands,  remarkable  for  their  im- 
mense crops  of  wheat,  oats,  and  barley;  the  Skokomish  is  the  largest 
stream  emptying  into  that  arm  of  Puget  Sound  called  Hood’s  Canal.  All 
these  streams  are  serviceable  for  the  shipment  of  logs  to  tide-water,  ex- 


IO 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


cept  in  instances  where  the  debris  from  the  forest  has  lodged  and  formed 
snags  interrupting  navigation.  The  Government  should  make  ample  pro- 
vision by  appropriation  for  clearing  out  these  streams.  The  immense 
wealth  ot  this  country  in  its  timber  calls  for  the  utmost!  consideration  on 
the  part  of  the  Government  in  favoring  shipments  thereof  to  tide-water. 

The  deep,  alluvial  soil  of  the  valleys  is  excellent  for  general  farming 
and  for  hay  crops,  and  is  probably  the  best  hop  land  in  the  world.  Hops 
grow  in  great  perfection  and  yield  more  heavily  than  in  any  of  the  hop 
regions  in  the  east  or  of  Europe.  The  crop  runs  from  1 500  to  2000  pounds 
to  the  acre.  Oats  are  an  important  crop,  being  extensively  grown  on  tidal 
flats,  reclaimed  by  sea  walls.  Apples,  pears,  plums,  quinces,  cherries, 
small  fruits  and  vegetables  grow  excellent  crops.  Proximity  to  the  mar- 
kets of  large  towns  and  ready  access  to  deep  water  navigation  makes  the 
Puget  Sound  lands  very  valuable,  and  the  agricultural  area  is  being  con- 
stantly increased  by  clearing  off  the  forests. 

TIMBER. 

Figures  fail  to  give  an  idea  of  the  lumber  product  available  in  this 
section.  One  of  the  finest  bodies  of  timber  in  the  world  is  embraced  be- 
tween the  Columbia  river  and  British  Columbia,  and  the  Pacific  Coast  and 
the  Cascades.  At  a low  estimate  one-half  the  growth  of  this  Puget  Sound 
district  consists  of  trees  which  will  yield  25,000  feet  of  lumber  to  the  acre. 
The  approximate  quantity  in  this  great  tract,  which  is  nearly  as  large  as 
the  state  of  Indiana,  is  not  les  than  160,000,000,000  feet.  The  principal 
growths  are  fir,  pine,  spruce,  cedar,  larch  and  hemlock,  although  white 
oak,  maple,  cottonwood,  ash,  alder,  and  other  varieties  are  found  in  con- 
siderable quantities.  Trees  attain  an  unusual  growth  in  height,  girth  and 
symmetry  of  form.  The  red  fir  is  not  unfrequently  250  feet  high,  the  pine 
160  feet,  the  silver  fir  150  feet,  the  black  spruce  150  feet,  white  cedar 
100  feet,  and  white  oak  70  feet.  Cedars  have  been  found  21  feet  in  diame- 
ter and  120  feet  high.  Trees  from  6 to  8 feet  in  diameter  are  frequently 
seen  in  the  forests  of  this  region.  Some  of  the  logs  sawed  are  of  great 
girth  and  sometimes  1 1 5 feet  long.  Immense  saw  mills  are  in  operation 
in  Tacoma,  Port  Blakely,  Seattle,  Port  Madison,  Port  Gamble,  Port  Lud- 
low, Utsalady  and  other  points,  and  lumber  is  furnished  to  points  on  the 
Pacific  coast  and  to  foreign  countries. 

COAL. 

There  are  extensive  coal  fields  at  the  foot  of  the  Cascade  mountains, 
which  are  worked  on  a large  scale  at  New  Castle,  20  miles  from  Seattle, 
and  at  South  Prairie  and  Carbonado,  about  30  miles  from  Tacoma.  The 
coal  is  brought  by  rail  to  the  Sound  and  shipped  to  San  Francisco  and  other 
places  for  locomotive,  steamship  and  domestic  use. 

IRON. 

Near  Port  Townsend  is  a deposit  of  iron  ore  which  is  smelted  near 
the | mines.  Rich  iron  veins  also  exist  near  Tacoma,  Seattle  and  Whatcom 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


II 


not  yet  developed.  An  important  iron  industry  is  destined  to  grow  up  on 
the  Sound  at  no  distant  day. 

FISH. 

Oysters,  clams,  halibut,  salmon,  salmon  trout,  herring,  tom  cod  and 
other  food  fishes  abound  in  the  waters  of  the  Sounds.  Clams  grow  to 
such  size  that  one  will  sometimes  make  a meal  for  a large  family.  The 
product  of  the  fisheries  of  Puget  Sound  is  an  important  item  of  wealth  to 
this  region. 

COMMERCE. 

Puget  sound  has  an  extensive  commerce.  Dumber  is  exported  to 
China,  Japan,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  Mexico  and  South  America. 
Wheat  is  shipped  to  Europe.  Teas  are  imported  direct  from  China  and 
Japan.  Coal  is  shipped  to  San  Francisco.  Daily  steamers  ply  between 
Tacoma  and  Seattle,  and  Victoria,  British  Columbia.  The  Sound  ports 
are  connected  with  San  Francisco  by  regular  steamship  service.  A large 
fleet  of  steamboats  is  employed  in  the  local  trade  of  the  Sound. 


Eastern  Washington 

IN  GENERAL. 


PAST  OF  THE  CASCADE  MOUNTAINS,  it  must  be  remembered, 
v,  the  climate  and  natural  features  of  the  country  are  very  different  from 
those  of  the  great  basin  lying  west  of  them,  so  that  the  popular  divisions, 
Eastern  and  Western  Washington  Territory,  are  warranted. 

In  the  eastern  section  the  thermometer  is  much  higher  in  summer 
and  lower  in  winter  than  in  the  western  section.  The  rainfall  is  only  half 
as  heavy.  From  June  to  September  there  is  no  rain,  the  weather  being 
perfect  for  harvesting.  The  heat  at  times  is  great,  but  not  nearly  so  op- 
pressive as  a much  lower  grade  would  be  in  the  Eastern  States;  and  the 
nights  are  invariably  cool. 

The  winters  are  short,  but  occasionally  severe,  snow  ^seldom  falls  be- 
fore Christmas,  and  sometimes  lies  one  or  two  months,  but  usually  disap- 
pears in  a few  days  or  weeks.  The  speedy  melting  of  the  snow  is  due  to 
a somewhat  remarkable  phenomenon,  the  so-called  “Chinook  Wind,” 
which  blows  periodically  up  the  channel  of  the  Columbia  river  from  the 
southwest.  Created  by  the  warm  Japan  current  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  this 
wind  operates  powerfully  to  moderate  the  climate  of  the  Pacific  J north- 
west. 

In  Eastern  Oregon  and  Washington  spring  begins  in  February,  with 
warm,  pleasant  weather,  and  lasts  until  the  middle  of  May.  At  this  sea- 
son rain  falls  in  sufficient  quantity  to  give  life  to  vegetation  and  ensure 
good  crops.  The  average  temperature  is  520. 


12 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Autumn  weather  in  October  and  November  is  generally  delightful. 
There  is  often  frost  by  night,  but  the  days  are  usually  warm  and  bright. 
The  season  is  marked  by  showers,  and  also  by  thunderstorms  in  some 
localities.  The  mercury  ranges  between  55  and  70°. 

The  rainfall  is  considerably  less  than  that  of  the  region  west  of  the 
Cascades,  being  lighter  near  the  Columbia  and  Snake  rivers,  and  increas- 
ing gradually  to  the  northward  and  toward  the  mountains. 

The  foregoing  description  of  the  climate  of  Washington  Territory 
must  be  understood,  however,  as  applicable  only  to  the  general  meteoro- 
logical characteristics  of  the  two  grand  divisions  of  the  country.  These 
characteristics  are  naturally  modified  to  a greater  or  less  extent  by  locality. 
The  region  is  vast  enough  to  embrace  much  variety  of  climate  within  the 
broad  limits  of  the  facts  here  presented. 

The  soil  east  of  the  Cascade  mountains  is  a dark  loam  of  great  depth, 
composed  of  alluvial  deposits  and  decomposed  lava  overlying  a clay  subsoil. 
This,  in  turn,  rests  upon  a basaltic  formation,  which  is  so  far  below  the 
surface  of  the  ground  as  to  be  visible  only  on  the  banks  of  the  deep  water- 
courses. The  constituents  of  this  soil  adapt  the  land  peculiarly  to  the 
production  of  wheat.  All  the  mineral  salts  which  are  necessary  to  the 
perfect  growth  of  this  cereal  are  abundant,  reproducing  themselves  con- 
stantly as  the  processes  of  gradual  decomposition  in  this  soil  of  volcanic 
origin  proceeds.  The  clods  are  easily  broken  by  the  plow,  and  the  ground 
quickly  crumbles  on  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  Although  the  dry  sea- 
son continues  for  months,  this  light  porous  land  retains  and  absorbs 
enough  moisture  from  the  atmosphere,  after  its  particles  have  been  partial- 
ly disintergrated,  to  ensure  perfect  growths  and  full  harvests.  This 
assertion  is  so  at  variance  with  common  experience  that  it  might  well  be 
questioned.  Happily,  it  is  susceptible  of  explanation.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  there  is  scarcely  a shower  between  May  and  the  following  October, 
and  that  the  average  rainfall  for  the  year  does  not  exceed  twenty  inches, 
there  is  always  the  requisite  moisture  for  maturing  the  crops.  Paradoxi- 
cal as  it  may  seem,  if  the  rain  were  greatly  in  excess  of  this  low  average, 
damage  would  certainly  ensue;  and  it  is  equally  sure,  if  successful  farming 
depended  upon  the  limited  rain-fall,  there  would  be  poor  harvests.  The 
clouds  supply  only  in  part  the  moisture  which  is  needed.  The  warm  air 
currents,  surcharged  with  vapor,  which  sweep  inland  from  the  ocean  up 
the  channel  of  the  Columbia  river,  prevent  drought.  The  effect  of  these 
atmospheric  currents  in  tempering  the  climate  has  already  been  described. 
Their  influence  upon  the  vegetation  is  no  less  vital.  The  moisture  with 
which  they  are  laden  is  held  in  suspension  during  the  day,  diffused  over 
the  face  of  the  country.  At  night  it  is  condensed  by  the  cooler  tempera- 
ture, and  precipitated  in  the  form  of  a fine  mist  on  every  exposed  particle 
of  surface  which  earth  and  plant  present.  The  effect  is  that  of  a copious 
shower.  This  is  apparent  on  taking  a morning  walk  through  the  grass, 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


13 


which  can  only  be  done  at  the  cost  of  wet  feet.  In  this  region  it  is  no  un- 
usual phenomenon  for  a smart  shower  to  fall  when  clouds  are  invisible  and 
the  sun  is  shining.  This  occurance  is  explained  also  upon  the  theory  that 
the  vapor  in  the  atmosphere  comes  in  contact  with  an  upper  current  of  cold 
air,  which  causes  rapid  condensation  and  consequent  rain.  A summer 
drought,  therefore,  which  in  most  climates  is  a calamity,  is  here  a benefit. 
The  soil  needs  no  more  rains  after  those  of  the  spring  are  over,  and  the 
farmer  may  depend  upon  cloudless  skies  at  harvest  time.  For  example, 
the  wheat  crop  of  Eastern  Washington  in  1883  was  6,500,000  bushels,  and 
no  rain  fell  between  May  and  September.  In  the  whole  vast  basin  of  the 
Columbia  river,  an  extent  of  150  miles  in  width  by  500  in  length,  there  is 
great  uniformity  in  the  general  character  of  the  arable  soil.  There  are, 
of  course,  modifications  of  its  component  elements  as  between  the  valleys 
and  the  higher  plateau  and  lower  mountain  slopes.  In  the  latter  an  ad- 
mixture of  clay  to  some  extent  is  often  found.  In  general,  the  soil  of  the 
foot-hills  is  more  productive  than  that  of  broader  valleys. 

The  exceeding  fertility  of  this  great  area  has  only  of  late  years  been 
known.  Some  of  the  large  wheat  farms,  which  now  are  most  productive, 
were  marked  not  long  ago  upon  the  maps,  by  the  United  States  surveyors, 
as  “lands  unfit  for  cultivation.’’  The  prolific  nature  of  the  soil  was  dis- 
covered, finally  by  a thoughtful  investigator,  who  plowed  and  sowed  a 
small  strip  as  an  experiment.  The  result  was  a surprise  and  a success.  It 
at  once  opened  the  way  to  the  profitable  cultivation  of  the  hitherto  de- 
spised land.  Now,  wherever  bunch  grass  grows,  the  fact  is  accepted  that 
wheat  will  flourish.  Of  such  lands,  there  are  almost  boundless  tracts' 
awaiting  settlement.  A mere  fraction  of  the  vast  fields  has  yet  been  taken. 
In  course  of  time,  however,  these  unoccupied  lands  will  be  settled.  For 
the  most  part,  these  vast  expanses  of  good,  arable  soil  are  the  grazing 
grounds  of  countless  herds  and  flocks,  which  thrive,  unsheltered,  the  year 
throughout,  on  the  natural  grasses,  and  supply  with  their  increase  the 
markets  of  Utah,  Nevada  and  other  States. 

Most  of  the  fruits  grown  within  the  temperate  zone  are  raised  at  var- 
ious points  in  the  low-lying  lands  in  great  perfection.  Peaches,  pears,  ap- 
ples, plums,  grapes  and  berries  of  fine  flavor  are  produced.  Orchards  come 
forward  rapidly,  peach  trees  bearing  often  three  years  after  planting  the 
seed. 


COMMERCE  AND  RAILWAYS. 

(The  following  information  relative  to  the  Territory  in  general  is  taken  from  the 
Governor’s  Report  for  the  year  1887:) 

The  past  two  years  have  been  the  most  important  in  the  history  of 
railway  enterprise  in  Washington  Territory.  Within  that  period  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  has  completed  its  line  across  the  Cascade  Moun- 
tains, the  Canadian  Pacific  has  been  finished,  and  the  Oregon  and  Cali- 


14 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


forma  has  been  pushed  with  so  much  energy  as  to  have  now  only  20  miles 
unfinished. 

To  Washington  Territory  the  completion  of  these  great  trunk  lines  is 
of  the  utmost  importance.  The  loss  of  either  one  of  them  would  now  be 
seriously  felt.  In  the  completion  of  the  Northern  Pacific  across  the  Cas- 
cade Mountains  the  Territory  has  been  freed  from  a disadvantage  which 
was  very  great,  and  which  seems  not  to  have  been  appreciated  elsewhere. 
It  was  generally  known,  indeed,  that  a direct  communication  by  rail  could 
be  had  from  the  East  with  Eastern  Washington  Territory,  or  with  Puget 
Sound;  but  it  was  much  less  commonly  known  that  neither  Puget  Sound 
nor  Eastern  Washington  Territory  had  a direct  communication  with  each 
other.  This,  however,  was  the  case.  From  Ellensburg  to  Tacoma  is  a 
distance  that  requires  now  a few  hours’  ride,  but  it  is  no  more  than  a few 
months  since  a person,  journeying  from  one  of  these  places  to  the  other, 
was  compelled  to  expend  nearly  a day  and  a half  in  doing  so. 

The  same,  in  greater  or  of  less  degree,  was  true  of  all  the  eastern  half  of 
the  Territory.  The  consequences  was  that,  much  the  greater  part  of  the 
people  of  the  two  districts  remained  strangers  to  each  other,  and  were  far 
better  acquainted  with  the  society  and  the  trade  of  Oregon  than  with  that 
of  their  own  Commonwealth.  Their  only  communication  with  Puget 
Sound  or  with  the  world  beyond  was  by  way  of  Portland. 

This  gross  inconvenience  was  an  inconvenience  to  the  people,  not 
merely  as  travelers,  but  as  producers  and  as  shippers.  It  long  remained 
an  almost  intolerable  burden  to  the  farmers  of  Eastern  Washington  that 
they  had  only  one  line  by  which  they  could  ship  their  crops  to  the  sea- 
board. The  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company  possessed  a mo- 
nopoly of  the  finest  wheat-producing  region  in  the  Territory,  and,  during 
many  years,  charged  rates  that  were  altogether  exorbitant.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  the  growth  of  the  Walla  Walla  district  has  been  seriously  retard- 
ed through  these  exactions. 

That  portion  of  the  Territory  which  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  eastern 
side  of  the  mountains,  though  it  did  not  suffer  in  the  same  degree  with 
other  portions  from  the  exorbitant  rates  of  freight  charges,  had  equal 
cause  to  rejoice  in  the  completion  of  the  road  across  the  cascades. 

The  completion  of  the  “Cascade  Division”  meant  to  these  people  new 
markets,  which  before,  though  near  enough  at  hand,  they  had  not  been 
able  to  reach.  If  all  accounts  are  to  be  believed,  I am  safe  in  saying  that 
the  prosperity  of  the  Yakima  and  the  Kittitas  Valleys  has  been  in- 
creased 50  per  cent,  by  this  easy  connection  with  the  Sound.  The  dis- 
tricts first  named  are  almost  exclusively  agricultural,  and  they  are  par- 
ticularly adapted  to  the  production  of  many  vegetables  that  are  difficult  to 
grow  on  the  western  side;  so  that  they  had  the  utmost  need  of  quick  com- 
munication with  the  growing  cities  of  tide- water. 

The  completion  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  has  been  very  use- 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


15 


ful  to  us.  Besides  tending  to  reduce  fares  by  competition,  it  has,  upon 
the  whole,  aided  the  settlement  of  this  region  by  a considerable  immigra- 
tion over  its  line.  The  class  of  settlers  that  have  come  by  it  is  reported 
to  be  very  worthy,  and  it  is  certain  that  many  of  them  leave  British  Col- 
umbia for  the  American  side. 

The  company  has  several  ocean  steamers,  and  some  of  them  have 
direct  communication  with  our  ports. 

The  Oregon  and  California  is  a line  the  completion  of  which  is  far 
more  important  to  us  than  the  people  of  the  Bast  seem  to  imagine.  By 
this  line  the  time  between  Puget  Sound  and  San  Francisco  is  reduced  to 
two  days.  A still  further  reduction  is  reasonably  certain.  But  the  chief 
advantage  to  us  is  not  so  much  in  the  saving  of  time  between  California 
and  this  region  as  in  the  fact  that  those  who  wish  to  come  here  from  that 
State  are  no  longer  compelled  to  do  so  by  sea.  The  sea  voyage  requiring 
not  only  three  or  four  days,  but  it  involved  inconveniencies  and  dangers 
that  caused  a very  great  number  of  persons  to  give  up  all  thought  of  visit- 
ing or  settling  in  this  Territory  when  they  were  disposed  to  leave  Cali- 
fornia. 

agricultural  development. 

The  acreage  of  the  Territory  is  rapidly  increasing.  No  statistics,  in- 
deed, can  be  given  that  can  be  relied  upon,  but  it  is  clear,  from  reports 
from  all  the  counties  and  from  many  grades  of  public  officers,  that  much 
more  land  is  tilled  than  formerly.  The  assessor  of  Walla  Walla  county 
reports  an  increase  of  56,000  acres  of  cultivated  land  since  last  year. 

A much  greater  increase  of  acreage  must  be  expected  in  the  eastern 
than  in  the  western  counties.  The  former  are  nearly  all  left  clear  by  na- 
ture and  ready  for  the  plow.  In  the  latter  there  is  very  little  that  must 
not  be  cleared  by  the  hand  of  man — a task,  in  many  districts,  of  arduous 
difficulty.  Wide  as  has  been  the  extension  of  agriculture  there  in  the 
past  year,  it  is  a most  reasonable  expectation  that  the  coming  twelve 
months  will  witness  much  more. 

The  agricultural  development  of  eastern  Washington  is  justly  a mat- 
ter of  pride  to  the  Territory.  An  impression  had  long  been  too  common 
in  other  parts  of  the  United  States  that  that  portion  of  Washington  Ter- 
ritory lying  east  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  was  a desert  that  could  never 
be  reclaimed.  Its  wide  plains,  its  infinitely  fine  dust,  were  everywhere 
described  in  the  most  discouraging  terms.  It  was  only,  it  was  said,  in  the 
roving  herds  of  stock  that  we  had  anything  to  hope  for  in  that  extensive 
country  between  the  Cascade  Mountains  and  our  eastern  boundary.  After 
a time,  however,  the  increase  in  the  crops  of  grain  attracted  attention. 
These  so  multiplied  every  year,  that  it  was  at  length  conceded  that  as  a 
grain-producing  region  Eastern  Washington  was  of  great  importance. 
This  fact  is  now  known  throughout  the  world,  but  it  is  the  most  that  is, 
generally  speaking,  allowed  to  be  the  merit  of  a remarkable  region.  It  is 


i6 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


yet  little  known  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  and,  indeed,  it  is  only 
lately  known  in  the  western  half  of  the  Territory  itself  that  Eastern  Wash- 
ington is  to  be  great,  not  merely  in  the  production  of  grain,  but  in  a va- 
riety of  crops  far  more  varied  than  was  imagined  or  than  can  be  seen  else- 
where in  the  world  farther  north  than  the  thirty-eight  parallel.  Erroneous 
notions  of  the  climate  had  much  to  do  with  the  mistake.  As  has  been 
remarked  in  another  place,  the  mistaken  opinion  is  common  in  the  United 
States  that  Eastern  Washington,  as  it  is  not  warmed  as  thoroughly  as 
Western  Washington  by  the  Japan  current,  must  have  the  climate  of 
Dakota  and  Montana,  in  the  latitude  of  which  it  lies. 

To  give,  in  any  detail,  the  productions  of  Eastern  Washington  would 
not  be  easy;  nor  could  it,  in  all  cases,  be  safe  to  class  among  its  produc- 
tions as  yet  what  many  persons  regard  as  such,  but  which  are  at  present 
only  experimental  growths.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  besides  many 
staple  crops  it  will  produce  hops,  tobacco,  sweet  potatoes,  melons,  peaches, 
apricots  and  grapes.  These  products  are  not,  indeed,  universal  in  that 
region,  but  they  are  to  be  found  in  many  districts,  and  undoubtedly  will 
afford  a livelihood  to  a considerable  population.  Besides  these,  cotton, 
peanuts,  and  sugar  cane  have  been  grown,  with  what  success,  as  regards 
general  culture,  remains  to  be  seen. 

It  may  be  asked  why  these  products  were  not  grown  before,  and  why 
it  has  been  reserved  to  such  recent  years  of  settlement  to  prove  the 
capacity  of  this  soil  and  climate.  The  answer  is  that  the  first  generation  of 
settlers  was  too  poor  to  make  experiments  in  agriculture.  It  was  as  much 
as  these  could  do,  beginning  with  little  money  and  in  the  midst  of  a hos- 
tile race,  to  get  the  easiest  products  of  the  earth  and  to  retain  a few  cattle. 
Markets,  too,  were,  in  that  period,  so  remote  as  to  be  practically  inacces- 
sible. In  consequence,  it  was  left  to  the  present  generation  and  to  the 
comparatively  wealthy  class  of  settlers,  who  come  in  these  years  of 
security  and  of  railways,  to  invest  time  and  money  in  obtaining  the  more 
delicate  harvests  of  this  region. 

The  crops  of  Western  are  less  various  than  those  of  Eastern  Wash- 
ington. Corn,  or  maize,  nowhere  a staple  crop  of  the  Territory,  is,  on 
this  side  of  the  mountains,  cultivated  only  in  the  gardens;  nor  does  barley 
or  rye  yield  to  great  satisfaction;  butt  much  wheat,  of  a fine  quality,  is 
harvested,  and  oats  in  great  abundance.  Hay  yields  in  wonderful  luxuri- 
ance. The  fame  of  our  hops  is,  of  course,  world  wide.  For  vegetables  of 
several  kinds,  Western  Washington  can  hardly  be  surpassed,  as  in  the  case 
of  Irish  potatoes,  beets,  and  turnips.  Whatever  requires  much  heat  does 
not  flourish.  Tomatoes  do  not  ripen  well. 

For  the  reasons  given  in  the  case  of  Eastern  Washington  experiments 
in  agriculture  have  not,  until  the  present  time,  been  numerous  on  the  west 
side  of  the  mountains;  but  it  is  probable  that  its  capacity  in  field  crops  has 
been  fairly  tried.  Some  products,  such  as  tobacco,  yet  demand  more 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


17 


careful  tests,  and  from  both  Pacific  and  Whatcom  counties  come  state- 
ments that  cranberries  will  flourish  in  their  marsh  lands.  But  it  is  chiefly 
in  respect  of  fruit  that  the  western  division  of  the  Territory  is  just  begin- 
ning to  prove  a wonderful  capability.  The  size  of  the  plums,  pears, 
strawberries  and  cherries  is  already  the  astonishment  of  travelers.  As  our 
railway  and  steamship  facilities  are  now  of  the  first  order,  it  is  no  longer 
matter  of  doubt  that  our  fruit  crop  will,  before  long,  be  a prodigious 
export. 

HOPS. 

This  is  a crop  in  which  the  people  of  the  Territory,  particularly  on 
the  western  side  of  the  mountains,  take  great  pride.  Hop  cultivation  has 
been  progressive,  and  is  to-day  a source  of  great  income  to  several  districts. 
Its  area  is  widening  every  year.  I accordingly  regret  that  a gentleman, 
eminently  qualified  to  give  the  statistics  of  it,  was  compelled  to  disappoint 
me  at  a day  too  late  to  admit  o*f  my  obtaining  the  information  in  full  from 
other  sources. 

It  is  a well-known  peculiarity  of  hops  that  their  value  fluctuates 
from  season  to  season,  more  perhaps  than  that  of  any  other  crop.  One 
year  they  may  be  worth  only  a few  cents  a pound,  another  year  worth  a 
dollar.  The  average,  accordingly,  varies  a great  deal.  After  an  autumn 
of  high  prices  there  is  a very  marked  increase  in  the  area  planted,  and 
after  a dull  year  the  reverse  is  true.  But  the  aggregate  average  has  stead- 
ily increased  in  this  region.  The  crop  of  1881  was  6,098  bales;  of  1883, 
9,301;  of  1885,  20,000;  of  1887,  according  to  the  present  estimates,  25,000. 
The  last  crop  is  estimated  to  bring  $1,125,000  to  the  people  of  this  Terri- 
tory. And  all  this  industry  has  sprung  from  beginningsas  recent  as  1865, 
or  rather  of  1875,  when  it  seemed  first  to  be  apparent  to  the  people  that 
hops  were  a staple  crop,  and  when,  for  the  first  time,  the  cultivation  of 
them  appears  to  have  been  made  a principal  object.  It  maybe  interesting 
to  note  the  beginnings  of  an  industry  which  has  already  enabled  us  to  in- 
fluence the  markets  of  the  world.  The  son  of  the  first  hop  grower  thus 
describes  it: 

My  father’s  attention  had  been  drawn  to  these  facts  accidentally,  and  he  had  no 
conception  of  the  future  of  the  business,  of  which  he  laid  the  foundation  and  died 
without  seeing  the  fruits  of  his  venture,  except  in  a third  crop  of  a few  bales.  The 
first  crop  consisted  of  one  bale  in  weight  and  was  cured  in  the  loft  overhead  of  the 
kitchen  fire,  was  marketed  in  Olympia,  and  was  sold  for  85  cents  per  poundj  and 
brought  $159.25;  the  second  crop  consisted  of  four  bales,  which  sold  for  75  cents  per 
pound,  and  gave  as  much  money  in  return  as  one-third  of  all  other  crops  then  grown 
in  Puyallup  Valley.  It  was  seven  years  before  much  progress  was  made  in  planting, 
the  aggregate  acreage  then  consisting  of  18  acres,  and  the  aggregate  production  of 
160  bales;  and  up  to  that  time  not  a hop  was  planted  elsewhere  except  in  Puyallup 
Valley,  and  those  within  a few  miles  of  the  original  garden. 

The  vines  of  this  Territory  are  universally,  I believe,  free  from  pests, 
and  as  the  yield  is  large,  our  growers  find  the  business  profitable  on  an 
average  price  of  12  cents,  and  even  lower.  In  1885  the  yield  here  for  the 
twelve  preceding  years  was  stated  to  have  averaged  1,600  pounds  an  acre, 


i8 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


and  the  price  for  the  same  period  18  cents  a pound.  In  the  former  of 
these  estimates  a year  of  unusual  harvest  was  omitted,  and  in  the  latter  a 
year  of  exceptionally  high  price. 

The  area,  as  has  been  said  before,  increases  every  year.  During  the 
past  season  the  thrifty  farmers  of  the  Chehalis  Valley,  in  Eewis  county y 
have  begun  the  cultivation  of  hops,  with,  it  is  reported,  encouraging  suc- 
cess. On  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountains,  at  Yakima,  the  average  is 
reported  at  three  hundred.  A journal  of  that  valley  states: 

Yakima  hops  and  all  the  crop  here  have  found  ready  sale,  and  been  received  with 
high  favor  at  Milwaukee,  where  the  great  brewers  prefer  them  to  any  others  grown 
in  America,  and  pay  for  them  2)4  cents  per  pound  more  than  those  grown  in  any 
other  locality.  The  peculiar  ingredients  of  our  volcanic  ash  soil,  the  dryness  of  our 
air,  and  our  irrigation  system  (enabling  moisture  to  be  applied  at  the  right  time  and 
in  the  proper  quantity)  contribute  to  the  attainment  of  the  high  degree  of  excellence 
for  which  Yakima  hops  are  now  famed. 

The  picking  in  Washington  Territory  is  chiefly  done  by  the  Indians. 
STOCK  RAISING. 

Under  this  head  I regret  to  say  that  I am  not  able  to  send  you  as  full 
a report  as  I could  desire,  partly  because  of  the  limited  time  allowed  for 
this  document  to  be  prepared  in,  and  partly  because  of  a certain  defect  in 
our  Territorial  laws.  There  is  not,  in  this  Territory,  an  enactment  re- 
quiring that  statistics  of  stock  be  returned  by  any  officer.  It  is  hoped,  in- 
deed, that  our  legislative  body  will  remedy  this  soon,  but  at  present  there 
is  no  method  by  which  any  data  can  be  obtained  by  lawT  in  respect  to  stock. 
In  some  cases  the  county  assessors  have  voluntarily  made  returns  of  the 
number  and  the  kinds  of  stock,  but  these  have  been  infrequent  instances. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  breeding  of  horses  and  cattle  is  yet  in  its  in- 
fancy here.  It  is  true  that  in  Eastern  Washington  the  number  of  stock 
produced  is  very  great,  but  it  is  only  of  late  that  the  breeding  of  fine 
qualities  of  them  has  become  common.  Where  a falling  off  in  numbers  is 
reported  it  is  generally  found  that  there  has  been  an  improvement  in  the 
breeds.  That  the  Eastern  Washington  districts  will  soon  cease  to  be  a 
wide,  unsettled  cattle  range  is  manifest  from  all  reports.  Thus,  to  quote 
from  the  assessor  of  Walla  Walla  county: 

Of  course  the  range  is  not  as  good  as  formerly,  as  the  plow  is  turning  down  the 
bunch  grass  and  the  fence  is  driving  out  the  stockmen.  * * * Almost  every 

farmer  now  raises  a few  cattle,  hogs,  sheep,  or  horses  for  market,  and  each  year  this 
is  being  done  more. 

The  auditor  of  Yakima  county  sends  the  same  report: 

Since  the  county  has  begun  to  be  occupied  by  settlers  who  are  engaged  in  grow- 
ing wheat  and  other  cereals,  many  of  the  large  stock  growers  in  the  county  have[re- 
moved  their  large  herds  to  localities  not  yet  reached  by  settlers. 

Still  this  district  affords  many  wide  ranges,  and  in  some  counties,  as 
in  Whitman,  Spokane,  and  Eincoln,  the  sheep  herds  are  reported  to  be 
exceedingly  large.  The  raising  of  this  stock  is , from  all  accounts  a rap- 
idly growing  industry. 

In  some  cases  the  culture  of  stock  has  been  of  an  involuntary  kind. 
I am  informed  that  in  Asotin  County  the  exorbitant  rates  of  freight 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


19  • 


charges  have  had  the  effect  of  turning  the  farmers  from  the  production  of 
grain  to  the  culture  of  stock.  But  in  most  instances  the  interest  in  cattle 
and  particularly  in  fine  breeds,  has  naturally  come  of  advancement  in 
wealth,  for  where  the  neighborhoods  are  poor  it  will  seldom  be  found  that 
much  interest  is  taken  in  the  breeding  of  stock.  The  same  reasons  that  I 
have  given  for  the  poverty  of  agricultural  experiment  in  the  past  genera- 
tion of  our  settlers  may  be  given  for  the  neglect  of  stock  breeding.  The 
first  generation  of  settlers  was  too  poor  to  invest  much  in  a few  expensive 
animals,  when  it  was  so  difficult  to  have  them  transported  here  and  when 
the  markets  were  so  distant. 

Now  our  communities  are  growing  richer,  and  besides,  there  is  a de- 
cided increase  in  the  demand  of  the  growing  home  markets.  In  conse- 
quence there  are  men  of  means  to  import  fine  breeds,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  poorer  farmers  are  encouraged  to  invest  something  in  this  way,  by 
seeing  markets  immediately  before  them.  From  nearly  all  counties  come 
reports  that  some  breed  has  lately  been  introduced. 

Some  have  gone  regularly  into  the  breeding  of  fine  stock  as  an  exclu- 
sive occupation.  At  Spokane  Falls  the  breeding  of  the  Short  Horn  and 
Polled  Angus  is  carried  on. 

The  breeding  of  horses  is  also  growingto  bean  important  part  of  our 
rural  industries.  It  is,  like  cattle  breeding  however,  as  yet  in  its  infancy. 
Of  the  most  costly  ventures  in  this  line  is  the  importation  direct  from 
England  of  the  Suffolk  Punch  horse.  This  large  breed  has  proved  very 
well  adapted  to  the  climate  of  Western  Washington,  in  Eewis  county, 
where  it  has  been  introduced.  The  Cleveland  Bay  and  the  English  shire 
horse  has  been  brought  into  Skagit  county  from  Illinois. 

A gentleman  of  unusual  experience  in  the  cultivation  of  stock  in 
various  parts  of  the  world  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  we  ‘ ‘shall  be  as  world-renowned  for  our  equine  productions 
as  Kentucky.  At  the  present  we  are  free  frbm  contagious  diseases,  but  it 
would  be  sound  policy  to  keep  a strict  quarantine  upon  our  borders,  as 
these  evils  will  not  originate  here,  but  are  brought  here  from  the  East.  ’ ’ 

The  shipment  of  stock  from  Eastern  Washington  is  very  considerable 
to  the  Eastern  States  and  Territories,  even  at  times  taxing  the  facilities  of 
the  railways.  The  grazing  in  that  district  is  on  the  so-called  “bunch 
grass,”  which  even  in  winter,  though  apparently  dead  and  without  nutri- 
ment, sustains  cattle.  They  often  crop  it  through  the  snows  and  fare  well 
upon  it.  Mentioning  the  snow  of  Eastern  Washington,  it  is  proper  to 
add  here  that  very  little  disaster  to  stock  on  account  of  it  is  reported  from 
that  part  of  the  Territory.  The  notions  commonly  entertained  that  East- 
ern Washington  is  a region  of  Dakota  cold  are,  as  I have  said  elsewhere, 
quite  erroneous.  The  winters,  though  sometimes  exceedingly  frosty,  are 
always  much  shorter  than  those  of  Dakota  and  Montana,  nor  do  the 
snows  lie  nearly  so  long.  These  are  removed,  after  a brief  stay,  by  the 


20 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Chinook  wind.  In  western  Washington  the  grazing  is  on  a turf  which, 
in  the  opinion  of  travelers,  is  equaled  only  by  that  of  Ireland.  The  grass 
on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  Territory  is  a beautiful  green  during  the  entire 
year,  rarely  suffering  either  from  frost  or  from  drought.  Two  acres,  in  some 
places  one  acre,  of  bottom  land  will  sustain  a horse.  Instances  of  even 
more  luxuriant  herbage  are  credibly  reported.  Much  grazing  is  had  for 
their  stock  by  new  settlers  upon  unoccupied  claims,  a claim  being  particu- 
larly desired  for  this  purpose  that  has  no  settlers  near  at  hand. 

FORESTS  AND  THE  PRODUCTION  OF  DUMBER. 

The  timber  trees  of  Washington  Territory  are  as  listed  below,  and 
rank  in  the  order  as  numbered: 

(i)  Yellow  and  red  fir;  (2)  white  and  red  cedar;  (3)  spruce;  (4)  larch; 
(5)  white  pine;  (6)  white  fir;  (7)  hemlock;  (8)  bull  pine;  (9)  tamarack;  (10) 
alder  and  maple;  11  ash  and  oak;  12  cherry  and  laurel;  (13)  cottonwoods. 

By  far  the  largest  article  of  export  is  the  yellow  and  red  fir,  which 
are  generally  classed  as  “Oregon  Pine”  in  price-lists  of  California  and  for- 
eign dealers.  The  trees  from  which  this  product  is  obtained  reach  12  feet 
in  diameter  and  300  feet  in  height,  in  exceptional  cases,  but  the  ordinary 
saw-logs  of  commerce  range  from  24  to  60  inches  in  diameter.  A large 
proportion  of  these  logs  is  clear-stuff,  and  is  made  into  deck  planks,  floor- 
ing, siding,  and  other  articles,  with  the  grain  of  the  wood  vertical,  so  that 
they  wear  without  splintering,  and  do  not  crack  readily  when  exposed  to 
the  sun  or  weather.  This  wood  is  also  used  for  bridges,  ship’s  timbers, 
and  railway  construction,  and  for  spars  and  piles.  It  is  most  excellent 
for  all  these  purposes  and  as  a general  building  lumber  on  account  of  its 
nail-holding  qualities.  This  lumber  is  known  and  has  a favorable  repu- 
tation in  nearly  every  port  of  the  Pacific  ocean  and  in  many  of  those  on 
the  Atlantic,  both  in  America  and  Europe. 

The  yellow  and  red  fir  constitutes  the  bulk  of  the  forests  of  Washing- 
ton Territory,  and  the  supply  is  ample  for  a good  many  years. 

The  white  and  red  cedar  is  not  so  abundant,  and  yields  only  a small 
per  cent,  of  clear-stuff,  but  the  lumber  is  very  durable  and  light,  and  is 
not  very  susceptible  to  atmospheric  changes,  which  makes  it  desirable  for 
the  manufacture  of  sash,  doors,  and  blinds,  and  for  finishing  lumber  and 
moldings.  It  is  also  the  most  superior  wood  for  shingles,  and  is  holding 
first  rank  in  all  the  markets  where  it  can  be  carried  by  water  or  rail. 
These  shingles  possess  the  quality,  common  to  all  the  saw-mill  products  of 
the  Territory,  of  being  grained  edge  or  vertical  grained.  On  account  of 
the  possession  of  this  quality  they  will  not  materially  warp  in  the  sun 
and  will  not  readily  split  under  the  hammer.  On  account  of  its  durability 
it  is  much  sought  after  for  fence  and  telegraph  posts. 

Spruce  and  larch  are  often  superior  in  size  to  the  firs,  and  make  very 
beautiful  lumber,  but  for  reasons  not  readily  explainable  are  of  very  limited 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


21 


uses.  The  spruce  is  inodorous  and  is  largely  used  for  packing-cases  and 
dunnage  on  that  account.  It  is  also  made  into  ladders,  furniture,  churns, 
sign-boards,  oars,  and  brackets. 

The  larch  is  not  so  well  known,  being  found  in  more  inaccessible 
places,  but  from  all  appearances  must  eventually  be  a formidable  rival  of 
the  cedars  and  pines  for  sash,  doors,  and  blinds,  and  other  finishing  ma- 
terial. It  takes  a fine  polish,  is  close  grained,  of  good  color,  and  the 
trees  being  very  large  they  yield  a large  percentage  of  clear  and  grained- 
edge  stuff.  As  railways  for  logging  purposes  extend  back  into  the  mount- 
ains more  of  this  timber  (which  grows  on  high  altitudes)  will  be  available, 
and  it  will  doubtless  then  be  quoted  in  the  markets  and  have  well-defined 
uses. 

White  fir  is  an  inodorious  wood,  and  is  comparatively  free  from  gums 
and  pitch,  and  is  used  largely  for  shelving  and  also  as  a cheap  finishing 
material.  It  is  not  durable  when  exposed  to  be  alternately  dry  and  wet, 
and  it  is  therefore  used  principally  for  inside  work. 

Hemlock  has  no  defined  use  as  yet,  but  if,  as  alleged,  mice  and  other 
vermin  will  not  gnaw  a hemlock  board,  it  must  come  into  use  for  granar- 
ies, pantry  drawers,  apd  for  packages  for  breadstuffs  and  meats. 

Alder  and  maple  exist  in  considerable  quantities  on  the  river  bottoms 
of  Western  Washington,  and  are  used  principally  for  the  manufacture  of 
cheap  furniture. 

Ash  and  oak  are  found  in  abundance  on  the  bottom-lands,  and  are 
largely  used  for  fire- wood.  A Small  percentage  of  the  trees  will  make  saw 
logs,  but  the  lumber  is  not  considered  superior  for  the  purposes  for  which 
oak  and  ash  are  commonly  used.  Whether  this  is  owing  to  the  prejudices 
of  wood-workers  or  to  actual  inferiority  in  the  material  appears  to  be  an 
open  question. 

Cherry  and  laurel  attain  only  a small  size,  and  can  only  be  utilized 
for  ornamental  purposes. 

White  pines  grow  on  high  altitudes,  and  are  found  with  the  larch,  over 
considerable  areas  on  the  upper  benches  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  It 
takes  higher  rank  than  the  white  pine  of  the  Hast,  as  it  is  obtainable  in 
larger  sizes  and  will  yield  wider  and  longer  boards.  „ 

The  cottonwoods  grow  to  the  size  of  three  feet  across  the  stump,  and 
are  used  principally  for  making  barrel  material,  excelsior,  and  paper  pulp. 

The  bull  pine,  yellow  pine,  and  tamarack  grow  on  the  eastern  slopes 
of  the  Cascade  Range  and  generally  throughout  Eastern  Washington. 
They  make  a quality  of  lumber  inferior  to  the  products  of  the  western 
slopes  of  the  Cascades  and  the  Coast  Range,  but  that  appears  to  answer 
the  local  demand  for  rough  lumber  and  fencing  materials. 

I give  in  a statement  below,  the  total  capacity  of  the  saw-mills  of  the 
Territory,  so  far  as  statistics  could  be  obtained.  I believe  the  capacity  of 
the  mills  is  underestimated,  but  whether  or  not  their  output  will  reach  the 


22 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


same  figure  I have  no  means  of  determining.  It  would  seem,  however, 
that  the  allowance  of  two  full  months  of  twenty-six  days,  that  has  been 
made  for  lost  time,  would  be  sufficient  to  equalize  the  totals. 


Capacity  of  Washington  Territory  saw-mills , in  superficial  feet,  for  a year  of  two  hundred  and 

sixty  working  days. 


Puget  Sound  mills 344,500,000 

Gray’s  Harbor  mills 114,400,000 

Columbia  River  mills 85,800,000 

Shoal  Water  Bay  mills 29,900,000 

Interior  mills  as  reported 62,840,000 

Interior  mills  not  reported  (estimated) 8,000,000 


Total 645,440,000 


The  operations  of  logging,  towing,  manufacturing,  loading  and  dis- 
charging vessels,  stacking  in  yards,  and  utilizing  offals  will  employ  at 
least  two  men  for  every  thousand  feet  of  lumber  produced.  This  industry, 
therefore,  gives  wages  to  4,964  men. 

I have  not  been  able  to  obtain  figures  for  this  year  in  regard  to  the 
number  and  destination  of  coastwise  and  foreign  cargoes,  but  in  1886, 
according  to  tables  in  the  San  Francisco  Journal  of  Commerce,  a good 
authority,  200,000,000  feet  of  lumber  were  sent  to  California,  and  the 
amounts  set  out  in  table  below  to  other  parts,  from  Puget  Sound  alone. 

From  all  this  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  lumber  industry  of 
Washington  Territory  is  by  no  means  in  its  infancy,  but  that  the  constant- 
ly increasing  demand  for  her  forest  products  will  require  larger  milling 
capacity  each  year  is  not  doubted. 

Destination , number , and  amount  of  foreign  lumber  cargoes  for  the  year  1886. 


Destination. 


Sydney  . 

Melbourne 

Hawaiian  Islands 

Valparaiso 

Mexico 

Buenos  Ayres . . . 

Brisbane 

Shanghai 

Callao 

Feejee 

Townsville 

New  Calendonia. 


No 

Feet 

Destination. 

No 

Feet. 

32 

25,082,332 

Hong-Kong 

2 

1,210,000 

27 

I9,053,426 

Antofogasta 

2 

1,127,000 

26 

14,244,111 

Iquique 

2 

1,206,716 

24 

14,990,372 

Rio  de  Janeiro 

1 

868,369 

9 

4,720,232 

Mollendo 

1 

473,105 

6 

4,818,111 

London 

1 

55L493 

5 

2,404,562 

Broken  Bay  . 

1 

814,000 

5 

2,794,460 

Montevideo 

1 

837,817 

4 

2,402,666 

Adelaide 

1 

607,305 

4 

1,204,494 

Coquimbo 

1 

423,862 

3 

2,192,558 

— 

3 

1,075,250 

Total 

l ' 

103,102,241 

There  was  also  shipped  during  the  same  year  to  American  Atlantic 
ports  as  follows; 


Feet. 

Boston,  three  cargoes  of  lumber,  aggregating 2,576,432 

New  York,  289  spars,  equal  to 300,000 

Bath,  323  spars,  equal  to 200,000 


Total. 


3,076,432 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


23 


EDUCATION. 

Prof.  Iy.  E.  Follansbee,  of  Olympia,  furnishes  me  the  following  in- 
formation concerning  academies  and  colleges.  Only  those  are  mentioned 
that  have  already  their  own  buildings: 

Washington  College  is  a school  for  boys,  at^Tacoma,  and  is  well  patronized.  It 
has  a liberal  endowment.  j 

The  Annie  Wright  Seminary  is  a school  for  young  ladies,  at  the  same  place,  and 
is  in  a flourishing  condition.  Both  this  and  the  last-named  institution  are  under  the 
supervision  and  control  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

Puget  Sound  Academy,  at  Coupville,  in  Island  County,  is  a Congregational 
school,  and  is  growing  into  popularity  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Sound  district. 

The  Northwest  Normal  School,  at  Lynden  *is  particularly  designed  for  the  edu- 
cation of  teachers.  ; v ^ t * 

Olympia  Collegiate  Institute  is  in  a prosperous  condition,  at  the  capital.  It  is 
under  the  charge  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Conference  of  Puget  Sound. 

Chehalis  Valley  Academy  is  a Presbyterian  school,  at  Montesano,  in  Chehalis 
county. 

Holy  Angels  College,  at  Vancouver,  is  a Catholic  school  for  boys,  and  is  one  of 
the  oldest  institutions  in  the  Northwest. 

Whitman  College,  the  center  of  education  in  Eastern  Washington,  and  a credit 
to  the  Territory,  is  at  Walla  Walla.  It  has  an  enrollment  of  150  students  and  a fine 
library. 

Waitsburg  Academy  is  a thriving  school,  at  Waitsburg. 

Washington  Academy,  at  Huntsville,  is  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  Brethren. 

Spokane  College,  at  Spokane  Falls,  is  a Methodist  Episcopal  school. 

There  is  at  Walla  Wplla  a thriving  business  school.  The  Sisters  of  the  Catholic 
orders,  have  prosperous  schools  at  Olympia,  Vancouver,  Seattle,  Walla  Walla, 
Yakima,  and  Spokane  Falls. 

The  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  at  Vancouver,  is  probably 
the  largest  school  building  in  the  Territory.  It  is  a boarding  and  day 
school  for  girls. 

Many  of  the  schools  are  for  the  joint  education  of  young  women  and 
young  men.  The  leading  schools  for  young  women,  however,  seem  to 
be  exclusively  for  that  sex.  Though  I am  unable  to  give  details  in  each 
instance,  for  want  of  returns,  I may  mention  one  or  two  institutions  more 
particularly,  to  show  how  far  advanced  private  education  is  in  the  Territory. 
The  Annie  Wright  Seminary  of  Tacoma,  reports,  in  the  fourth  year  of  its 
existence,  an  endowment  of  $50,000  and  100  pupils.  The  academy  of  the 
Holy  Names,  at  Seattle,  for  young  ladies,  has  a site  and  a building,  the 
estimated  cost  of  which  is  $75,000.  The  present  attendance  is  reported 
at  no. 

TABOR  SUPPLY. 

No  adequate  reports  upon  upon  the  subject  of  labor  have  been  sent  in, 
and  it  is  not  possible  to  give  any  statistics  upon  it.  Requests  for  informa- 
tion were  mailed  to  the  secretaries  of  several  of  the  labor  organizations, 
but  only  from  two  or  three  were  any  replies  obtained. 

At  the  present  writing  it  is  clear  that  the  labor  supply  is  hardly,  upon 
the  whole,  equal  to  the  demand.  During  the  past  summer  the  degree  of 
building  has  been  much  greater  than  for  two  years  previous,  while  the 
laboring  classes  had,  in  the  late  dull  times,  wandered  into  other  districts. 
As  yet  the  return  of  the  former  surplus  has  not  begun,  so  that  very  few 


24 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


who  are  here  at  present  need  long  remain  idle.  Indeed,  there  can  now  be 
observed  at  times  in  applicants  for  employments  a fastidiousness  that  was 
very  rare  last  summer.  The  price  of  labor  has  correspondingly  increased. 
A newspaper  states  that  on  the  first  two  days  of  a certain  week  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  men  were  sent  to  work  upon  the  railways  at  $2. 75 
a day.  The  average  workman  is  reported  to  be  in  demand  at  from  $2.25 
to  $3.50  a day,  “and  more  in  some  classes  of  skilled  work.”  At  the  same 
place  servant  girls  are  wanted  at  $15  a month  and  more,  and  in  hotel 
service  at  from  $20  to  $25  a month. 

In  short,  the  laboring  classes  in  the  towns  are  in  very  fair  demand. 
In  addition  to  the  erection  of  many  private  structures  the  railway  im- 
provements in  various  parts  of  the  Territory  have  called  for  many  work- 
men. The  lumber  mills  are  active,  and  the  logging  camps.  Advertise- 
ments for  workmen  are  common  on  the  streets  of  our  principal  cities. 

In  the  rural  districts  the  need  of  workmen  is,  of  course,  much  less  at 
most  times  of  the  year;  and  from  these  quarters  the  reports  are  that  the 
demand  and  supply  are  about  equal.  Yet  even  there  the  supply  is,  in 
places,  inadequate.  I quote  from  the  auditor  of  Yakima  county: 

The  labor  supply  is  limited.  Great  difficulty  is  experienced  in  procuring  any 
and  all  kinds  of  labor,  Indians  do  the  hop  picking  chiefly.  A few  Chinamen  are 
employed  in  the  county  for  the  want  of  white  labor.  Skilled  mechanics  are  few  in 
number,  and  farm  laborers  are  in  demand  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  particularly 
during  the  spring  and  summer  months. 

The  assessor  of  Chehalis  county  reports: 

At  present  the  labor  supply  is  scarcely  equal  to  the  demand;  the  mills  increasing 
fast  enough  to  need  every  one  coming  into  the  county, 

From  these  two  reports,  from  counties  on  either  side  of  the  moun- 
tains, it  is  clear  that,  even  in  the  rural  districts,  the  supply  is  not  above 
the  demand.  In  Clallam,  a somewhat  remote  county,  the  superintendent 
of  schools  states  that  work  can  be  had  there  by  all  who  come. 

How  far  the  railway  enterprise  and  the  building  of  the  present 
may  affect  this  state  of  things,  and  how  liable  we  are  to  relapse  into  a 
scarcity  of  labor,  it  is  hard  to  predict.  The  secretary  of  the  Knights  of 
Tabor  at  Tacoma  communicates  as  follows: 

At  the  present  time  there  is  a considerable  amount  of  work  going  on,  which  may 
be  considered  exceptional.  The  extension  of  the  railroad  and  wharves,  new  ware- 
houses for  storing  wheat,  and  street  grading,  etc. , have  created  quite  a demand  for 
carpenters  and  ordinary  laborers;  but  the  supply  is  fairly  equal  to  the  demand,  and 
the  wages  are  good.  In  a month  or  so,  as  this  work  is  nearing  completion,  there  will 
be  a considerable  surplus  of  laborers  and  mechanics.  In  winter  there  will  be  at 
least  two-thirds  of  the  laboring  population  out  of  employment.  It  has  been  so,  to 
my  knowledge,  for  the  past  two  winters. 

How  far  this  prediction  will  prove  true  remains  to  be  seen.  That 
there  will  be  less  work  during  the  winter  than  at  present  is  very  probable, 
but  whether  the  falling  off  will  be  as  marked  as  heretofore  is  question- 
able. During  the  past  two  winters  referred  to,  the  dullness  in  our  chief 
industry  of  lumber  was  very  great,  but  the  very  opposite  is  now  true  in 
respect  to  it. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


25 


The  Chinese  continue  to  be  the  house  servants  in  the  larger  and  in 
many  of  the  smaller  towns.  As  washermen  they  are  nearly  universal  in 
places  of  all  sizes.  There  has  been  a general  belief  that  white  women 
could  not  be  found  who  would  do  these  tasks,  after  the  employment  had 
been  degraded  by  its  falling  exclusively  into  the  hands  of  the  Chinese. 
But  in  Tacoma,  where  none  of  this  race  are  permitted  to  stay,  the  young 
women  have  readily  taken  their  places. 

COMMERCE. 

For  the  following  custom-house  statistics  I am  indebted  to  the  Hon. 
Quincy  A.  Brooks,  collector  of  the  port  at  Port  Townsend,  and  to  Capt. 
E.  N.  Biondi,  agent  of  the  board  of  underwriters  of  San  Francisco  and 
marine  surveyor  at  Port  Townsend: 

Since  the  completion  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  a large  amount  of  busi- 
ness that  formerly  was  transacted  through  this  collection  district  has  been  deflected. 

The  surplus  products  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  Territory  are  shipped  by  way  of 
Portland,  thus  swelling  the  exports  of  Oregon  at  the  expense  of  this  Territory. 

The  value  of  the  large  herds  of  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  that  are  annually  driven 
and  shipped  direct  by  rail  also  naturally  lessens  the  value  of  our  exports. 

The  central  office  of  the  collection  district  of  Puget  Sound  is  at  Port  Townsend, 
Jefferson  county,  with  sub-ports  at  Roche  Harbor  and  O’Sooyoos. 

Vessels  are  constantly  coming  from  and  departing  for  all  parts  of  the  world  from 
Puget  Sound. 

The  number  of  steam  vessels  registered  at  the  custom-house  is  104,  with  an  aggre- 
gate tonnage  of  11,582.32,  an  increase  of  14  since  last  report.  These  vessels  only 
ply  upon  the  waters  of  Puget  Sound  to  supply  the  local  need.  The  steamers  that 
ply  between  Sound  ports  and  San  Francisco,  Portland,  and  Alaska  are  all  registered 
either  in  San  Francisco  or  Portland. 

There  are  168  vessels  of  all  kinds  documented  at  the  custom-house,  with  an 
aggregate  tonnage  of  40,306,  During  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1887,  994  ves- 
sels, with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  539,597,  of  which  155  were  coasters  and  839  for- 
eign, were  entered. 

Entrance  and  clearances,  1,982  vessels;  aggregating  1,054,038  tons. 

Average  monthly  entrance  and  clearances,  vessels,  165;  tonnage,  87,836. 

There  were  26  new  vessels  built,  and  3 rebuilt,  during  the  year,  of  which  12  were 
steam-vessels,  with  a tonnage  of  1,002.43,  aud  x7  sailing  vessels,  with  a tonnage  of 
4,464.31.  Total  tonnage,  5,466.74. 


Revenues  collected  during  the  year $40,015.76 

Miscellaneous  receipts 22,249.04 


Total  receipts 

an  increase  since  last  report  of  $14,688.17. 


62,264.80 


A recapitulation  of  the  tables  shows  the  value  of  exports  from  this  district  for 
the  year  to  have  been: 


Coal; $1,549,652 

Lumber 3,090,696 

Miscellaneous  and  produce 2,527,000 


Total  coastwise 7,167,348 

Foreign  exports 1, 769, 209 

Total  exports,  foreign  and  coastwise 8^36,557 

There  are  nine  loading  ports  in  the  district — Ports  Discovery,  Hadlock,  Ludlow, 
Gamble,  Madison,  Blakely,  Tacoma,  Seattle  and  Utsalady. 

During  the  year  salmon  and  miscellaneous  merchandise  to  the  value  of  $59,415 
passed  through  in  transit.  Since  July  1 and  prior  to  September  1,  1887,  tea  and  silk 
valued  at  $53,065,  salmon  $59,071,  have  been  imported  in  transit.  Railroad  iron, 
steel  rails,  two  cargoes,  value  $87,000,  duty  $65,000,  have  been  received. 


26 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Value  of  exports  and  imports  from  July  i,  1886,  to  June  30,  1887,  district  of  Puget  Sound 


% 

Months. 

Value  of  do 

In  Ameri- 
can vessels 

mestic  expc 

In  foreign 
vessels. 

>rts  shipped 

Total  ex- 
ports. 

Imports. 

Total  ex- 
ports and 
imports 

July 

$121,865 

$45,oi4 

$166,879 

$107,151 

$274,030 

August 

107,826 

59,792 

167,618 

n,447 

179,065 

September 

114,427 

54,841 

169,268 

54,339 

223,607 

October 

97,080 

52,809 

149,889 

24,037 

173,926 

November 

107,190 

112,333 

219,523 

20,976 

240,499 

December 

73,597 

37,467 

111,064 

23,518 

134,582 

January 

60,532 

45,813 

106,345 

8,641 

114,986 

February  

64,518 

53,312 

117,830 

4,821 

122,651 

Match  

77,297 

35,982 

113,279 

10, 188 

123,467 

April 

9^625 

83,443 

175,068 

16,745 

191,813 

May  

75,807 

29,727 

105,534 

26,973 

132,507 

June 

72,711 

94, 201 

166,912 

39,44i 

206,353 

Total 

1,064,475 

704,734 

1,769,209 

348,277 

2,117,486 

Revenues  collected $40,015.76 

Miscellaneous  receipts 22,249.04 


Total  receipts 62,264.80 

Vessels  documented „ ' 168 

Tonnage . .. 40,306.68 

Imports  since.  June  30,  1887,  to  August  31,  1887 $124,556 


Entrances , clearances , and  tonnage  in  the  district  of  Puget  Sound  from  Jnly  1,  1886,  to  June 

30,  1887. 

PORT  TOWNSEND. 


Months. 

Entrances. 

Clearances. 

Total  entrances  and  clear 
ances. 

American  coastwise.  j 

Foreign  from  coastwise 

American  from  foreign. 

Foreign  from  foreign. 

Total  entrance. 

American  coastwise. 

| Foreign  for  coastwise. 

America  for  foreign. 

Foreign  for  foreign. 

Total  clearances. 

July 

7 

1 

60 

7 

75 

9 

61 

8 

78  | 

153 

August 

6 

5i 

13 

7o 

7 

54 

9 

7°  [ 

140 

September 

10 

! 51 

16 

77 

5 1 

50 

13 

68  j 

H5 

October.  

10 

1 

53  I 

15 

79 

10  1 

54 

•14 

78 

157 

November 

10 

2 

47 

6 

65 

9 

52 

17 

78 

143 

Decendoer.  . . 

6 

2 

55 

7 

7o 

4 1 

52 

10 

66 

136 

January 

4 

1 

40 

11 

56 

6 ! 

45 

10 

61 

117 

February  

8 

1 

36 

8 

53 

7 ! 

40 

10 

57 

no 

March  

12 

45 

9 

69 

10  | 

40 

7 

57 

123 

April  

28 

3 

44 

14 

89 

6 

58 

r3 

77 

166 

May 

17 

4 

43 

6 

70 

18  1 

45 

6 j 

69  | 

x39 

June  

19 

2 

47 

7 

75 

15 

1 

55 

14 

_85J 

160 

Totals  

137 

17 

572 

119 

10 

-t- 

ZC 

106  ) 

~T  l< 

606 

131  J 

844  | 

1,689 

WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


27 


NATIONAL  BANKS  OF  THE  TERRITORY. 


Name. 

1 

Capital. 

Surplus. 

|5o,ooo 

60,000 

1 1 0,000 
20,000 

50,000 

50.000 

75. 000 

50.000 
150,000 

50,000 

50.000 

70.000 

75.000 

50.000 
50,000 

100,000 

100.000 

200.000 

10,000 

First  National  Bank  of  North  Yakima 

First  National  Bank  of  Olympia  

First  National  Bank  of  Port  Townsend 

6,000 

12.000 

25.000 

15.000 

National  Uqnk  nf^eattlp  

Merchants’  National  Bank  of  Seattle  ...  

Puget  Sound  National  Bank  of  Seattle  

30,000 

First  National  Bank  of  Spokane  Falls  . 

Traders’  National  Bank  of  Spokane  Falls  

First  National  bank  of  Sprague.  

1,000 

Merchants’  National  Bank  of  Tacoma.  

2,000 

Pacific  National  Bank  of  Tacoma  

Tacoma  National  Bank  of  Tacoma 

National  Bank  of  Commerce,  Tacoma  

25,000 

First  National  Bank,  Vancouver  

50,000 

150,000 

14.000 

20.000 

First  National  Bank,  Walla  Walla 

Total  capital 

1,430,000 

TERRITORIAL  BANKS. 


Capital. 

Bank  of  Pullman . 

125.000 

50.000 

30.000 

50.000 

200.000 

Palouse  City  Bank 

Tacoma  Trust  and  Savings’  Bank 

Bank  of  Farmington . 

Dexter,  Horton  & Co. , Seattle 

Total  capital 

Total  capital  of  national  banks 

355,ooo 

1,430,000 

Total  capital  of  incorporated  banks 

1,785,000 

Besides  these  national  and  Territorial  there  are  many  private  banks  of 
which  the  following  is  thought  to  be  a correct  list:  Coffman  & Allen, 

Chehalis,  Eewis  county;  Bank  of  Cheney,  Cheney;  Bank  of  Colfax,  Col- 
fax; Ben.  E.  Snipes  & Co.,  Ellensburgh;  Skagit  County  Bank,  Ea  Conner; 
Harford  & Sons,  Pomeroy;  Edward  B.  Downing  & Co.,  Seattle;  Bank 
of  Spokane  Falls,  Spokane  Falls;  Baker  & Boyer,  Walla  Walla;  First 
Bank  of  Whatcom,  Whatcom;  J.  Furth  & Co.,  Snohomish;  Stewart  & 
Masterson,  Puyallup. 

Of  the  preceding  as  well  as  of  the  Territorial  bank  no  statistics  are 
obtainable.  The  private  banks  are  of  course,  like  any  other  partnerships, 
free  from  public  inquiry.  The  Territorial  though  incorporated,  are  organ- 
ized under  general  statutes  and  are  not  required  to  publish  any  state- 
ments. It  may  be  added  here  that  it  is  only  within  the  past  two  years 
that  the  Territory  has  been  permitted  by  Congress  to  incorporate  any 
banking  institutions. 


28 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


PRECIOUS  METAUS. 

The  mining  of  precious  metals  in  the  Territory,  there  is  no  longer 
hazard  in  predicting,  will  now  begin  upon  an  extensive  scale.  Recent  ex- 
plorations and  tests  have  conclusively  shown  that  Eastern  Washington  has 
at  least  three  fields  of  rich  deposits.  Already  many  claims  have  been 
entered,  many  routes  of  transportation  arranged,  and  great  reduction 
works  are  in  course  of  erection. 

coevilee. 

The  Colville  district  is  reached  by  stage.  The  southern  boundary  of 
the  district  on  the  stage  road  is  at  Chawelah  (60  miles  from  Spokane 
Falls),  and  the  district  may  be  said  practically  to  extend  from  there  north- 
ward to  the  Columbia,  and  up  the  Columbia  to  the  forty-ninth  parallel. 
The  prevailing  country  rock  is  limestone,  the  prevailing  mineral  argenti- 
ferous galena.  The  first  silver  mines  in  the  Colville  district  were  discov- 
ered in  1858,  at  a point  near  the  mouth  of  the  Colville  river  known  as 
Rickey  Hill.  Several  thousand  dollars’  worth  of  work  was  done  at  the 
time,  but  the  region  was  too  far  from  an  ore  market.  Work  has  recently 
been  recommenced  at  the  same  place,  and  the  property  is  looking  well. 
The  next  discoveries  were  made  in  1882,  and  comprised  the  group  of 
mines  now  owned  by  the  Spokane  Mining  and  Smelting  Company  at 
Argentum.  About  600  feet  of  underground  work  has  been  done,  the 
largest  tunnel  being  270  feet. 

The  next  discoveries  were  in  the  summer  of  1883,  in  the  Summit  re- 
gion, which  is  on  the  divide  between  the  Colville  and  Columbia  Rivers, 
some  20  miles  southwest  from  Colville.  The  ores  here  are  gray  copper, 
running  from  40  to  60  ounces,  with  40  per  cent,  of  lead.  Some  500  feet 
of  underground  work  has  been  done  on  these  claims,  the  deepest  shaft 
being  down  1 20  feet.  The  principal  mines  in  the  vicinity  are  the  Summit, 
Iridescent,  Sheba,  Agnes,  Ancon,  Chloride,  and  Wellington.  The  Daisy 
mine,  lying  7 miles  northwest  from  the  Summit,  contains  a fine  body  of 
carbonate  ore,  running  80  ounces.  A ioo-foot  tunnel  has  been  driven  in- 
to it,  and  work  is  still  progressing. 

In  the  summer  of  1884  a number  of  fine  discoveries  were  made  at 
Embrey,  which  is  two  miles  east  of  the  present  town  of  Chawelah.  But 
little  work  has  been  done  upon  these  claims,  yet  all  look  promising.  One 
claim,  the  Enterprise,  shows  croppings  which  run  as  high  as  250  ounces 
per  ton.  The  principal  mines  here  are  the  Silver  Gem,  Ona,  Bonanza 
Chief,  Enterprise,  and  Fred  B. 

The  most  important  discovery  yet  made  in  the  Colville  district  was 
that  of  the  old  Dominion,  in  April,  1885.  It  is  situated  6 miles  east  of 
Colville.  It  is  a contact  vein,  between  limestone  and  granite,  the  ore 
being  chloride  and  galena.  The  first-class  ore  sorted  for  shipment  has 
averaged  $240  per  ton.  Over  100,000  tons  of  ore  have  been  shipped  from 
this  mine,  which  has  been  self-sustaining,  not  a dollar  of  capital  having  been 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


29 


put  in  it.  The  mine  is  still  producing  steadily,  and  the  large  dump  of 
second-class  ore  which  has  accumulated  will  be  hauled  to  the  smelter  at 
Colville  as  soon  as  it  is  in  operation. 

List  of  steam  vessels  documented  in  the  collection  district  of  Puget  Sound. 


Name. 

% 

Where  built. 

When 

/built. 

Tonnage. 

Gross. 

Net. 

Bessie 

1886 

14.  so 

7.2s 

Bob  Irving 

a < < 

1884 

iq6.  so 

i^i.  56 

Clara  Brown  

ii  a 

1887 

7 .j 
2SI 

O ’ 

167.28 

Bstella 

U < < 

1885 

l6 

11.03 

Gypsy  Queen 

n a 

1885 

8 

Harry  Lynn 

u u 

1887 

50 

32.50 

Joe  Adams 

u a 

1879 

8 

Mogul 

<<  a 

1886 

189.46 

126.23 

Saranac 

Whatcom  AVash 

i878 

9.70 

Shoo  Fly 

Coupville  ‘Wfmb 

1881 

54.63 

27.32 

Susie 

Seattle  ^Vash 

1879 

47.46 

Seattle 

1881 

13.03 

6.52 

S.  L.  Mastick 

Port  Discovery  ^Vash 

1869 

213.00 

106.50 

Sophia 

Lake  Bay  Wash 

1884 

22.36 

12.61 

Swan 

Tacoma  Wash 

1883 

4.00 

Skagit  Chief 

1887 

345- 00 

241.17 

Saint  Patrick 

Waterford,  Wash 

1874 

21.75 

Squak 

Lake  Washinpirin  AVasb 

1884 

31 .64 

18.51 

Success 

Utsaladdy,  Wash 

1868 

13.14 

6.57 

Tyee 

Port  Ludlow,  Wash 

1884 

316.33 

158.17 

Tacoma * . 

San  Francisco,  Cal  

1876 

239-57 

128.42 

Tillie  .... 

Seattle,  Wash 

1883 

16.76 

Violet.  . 

1887 

i7.ii 

8.56 

Virginia  

San  Francisco  Cal 

1875 

9.92 

Washington.  . 

Vancouver,  Wash 

1881 

292.28 

193.08 

W.  K.  Merwin  . . . 

Seattle,  Wash  . . . 

1883 

229.08 

166.04 

W.  F.  Munroe.  . . . 

1883 

181.49 

99.81 

Wildwood. 

Portland,  Oregon 

1884 

53-58 

26.79 

Willie 

Seattle,  Wash 

1883 

82.60 

55-94 

Welcome . . . 

Portland,  Oregon 

1874 

326.56 

Yakima .... 

Port  Gamble,  Wash 

1874 

173-54 

Yuma. . . 

Seattle,  Wash 

1885 

4.00 

Zephyr . 

i87i 

161.54 

| 109.75 

Total  tonnage.  . . 

12,315.84! 

THE  OKANAGAN  MINES. 

The  Okanagan  or  Salmon  River  district  is  reached  by  the  stage  from 
Spokane  Falls,  via  Davenport,  Grant  Center,  and  Condon’s  Ferry  over  the 
Columbia.  On  the  completion  of  the  Spokane  Falls  and  Columbia  Rail- 
road, it  will  be  reached  by  rail  and  steamer  to  Condon’s  Ferry,  and  thence 
by  stage.  The  distance  from  Spokane  Falls  to  Condon’s  Ferry,  is  120 
miles;  from  the  Ferry  to  Ruby  City  or  Salmon  City  is  40  miles.  The 
stage  trip  from  Spokane  Falls  to  Salmon  City  occupies  three  days, 
the  stages  running  in  daylight  only.  It  may  also  be  reached  by  stage 
from  Ellensburg,  which  town  competes  with  Spokane  Falls  for  the  trade 
of  these  mines. 

The  first  mines  discovered  in  this  district  were  galena  and  carbonate 
deposits,  which  were  found  on  the  Similkimene  River,  and  about  Osoyoos 


30 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Lake.  Although  assaying  well,  they  were  so  far  from  an  ore  market  that 
but  little  attention  was  paid  to  them.  The  prospecting  gradually  drifted 
southward,  and  in  May,  1886,  the  first  mines  were  discovered  on  the  Sal- 
mon River,  which  is  a tributary  of  the  Okanagan,  emptying  into  that 
river  from  the  west,  at  a point  30  miles  from  the  Columbia.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1886,  additional  discoveries  were  made  at  a point  4 miles  south  of  the 
first  ores,  and  these  two  groups  called,  respectively,  Salmon  City  and 
Ruby  City  are  the  present  centers  of  attraction.  The  limestone,  which 
is  the  principal  rock  in  the  Pend  d’ Oreille,  Kootenai,  Metaline,  and  Col- 
ville districts,  disappears  some  3 miles  east  of  Salmon  River,  and  the  for- 
mation is  granite,  syenite  and  porphyry.  At  Ruby  it  consists  almost  en- 
tirely of  the  last  two.  The  ore  at  Salmon  is  galena,  gray  copper,  and  a 
little  chloride  and  sulphuret  ores.  It  is  all  high  grade,  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  chloride,  is  all  concentrating  ore.  The  deepest  shafts  are 
not  down  over  50  feet,  but  enough  ore  has  already  been  developed  to 
warrant  the  introduction  of  Machinery,  and  the  owners  of  the  Homestake 
and  the  Tough  Nut  have  already  made  arrangements  with  Tacoma  parties 
to  put  in  a concentrator.  The  principal  claims  are  the  La  Kuna,  Colum- 
bia, Homestake,  Tough  Nut,  Hidden  Treasure,  Pointer,  Lone  Star,  Gold- 
en Crown,  Lady  of  the  Lake,  Kureka,  Washington,  Ida  May,  and  Well- 
ington. The  ores  run  from  40  to  400  ounces,  and  the  concentrators  can 
readily  be  made  to  run  200  to  2,000  ounces  per  ton. 

At  Ruby  one  of  the  largest  veins  of  quartz  known  in  the  northern 
regions  has  been  discovered  and  partially  opened.  It  has  been  traced  con- 
tinuously for  miles,  and,  from  the  discoveries  made  each  way  from 
this  line  of  claims,  it  is  apparently  7 miles  in  length.  It  is  a fissure  vein 
in  porphyry  and  syenite,  running  a little  east  of  north,  and  pitching 
nearly  vertical.  It  varies  in  width  from  5 to  25  feet,  the  quartz  carrying 
principally  sulphuret  and  native  silver,  with  a very  little  galena.  It  is 
essentially  a concentrating  ore,  and  assays  from  100  to  500  ounces.  The 
deepest  shaft  of  the  ledge  is  on  the  First  Thought  claim,  60  feet.  Permanent 
water  level  has  been  reached  without  any  change  in  the  quality  of  the  ore. 
Work  is  progressing  steadily  on  several  of  the  other  claims,  notably  the 
Arlington,  Ruby,  Fourth  of  July,  Cleopatra,  and  Famous,  with  uniformly 
good  results.  The  mineral  already  laid  bare  in  the  Arlington  stamps  it  as 
one  of  the  leading  silver  mines  of  the  Northwest.  In  addition  to  the 
main  vein,  there  are  several  side  veins  all  carrying  the  same  class  of  min- 
eral, some  of  which  have  been  traced  for  2 miles  in  length.  The  princi- 
pal claims  at  Ruby  are  the  Colville,  Black  Hills,  Blue  Bird,  Peacock,  Gray 
Wing,  War  Eagle,  Idaho,  Poorman,  Fairview,  Cleopatra,  First  Thought, 
Delta,  Bay  Horse,  Monitor,  Arlington,  Pomeroy,  Woohoomooloo,  Hula, 
Arizona,  Buckeye,  Ruby,  California,  May,  and  Spokane. 

The  fact  of  its  being  sulphuret  ore,  running  so  high  in  silver  and  so 
easy  of  concentration,  effectually  solves  the  transportation  problem,  and 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


31 


capital  has  already  been  attracted  to  these  mines.  It  will  be  one  of  the 
prominent  camps  of  the  Northwest  before  the  close  of  the  year.  The 
Okanagan  is  a beautiful  region,  abounding  in  grazing  lands,  lakes  and 
forests,  and  a more  picturesque  mining  district  or  a more  agreeable  climate 
would  be  hard  to  find. 

IRON. 

That  bog-iron  ore  exists  in  immense  quantities  is  a matter  beyond  all 
doubt,  and  the  efforts  of  our  people  have  been,  not  so  much  to  discover 
and  prove  the  possession  of  this  metal  as  to  make  it  accessible.  The 
present  year  of  railroad  development  has  brought  these  ample  deposits 
within  our  reach.  In  the  coming  twelve  months  it  is  quite  probable  the 
beginning  of  extensive  factories  will  have  been  made. 

The  principal  deposits  of  iron  ore,  as  far  as  is  yet  known,  are  in  the 
eastern  county  of  Kittitass  and  the  western  counties  of  Jefferson,  King, 
and  Pierce.  There  are  known  to  be  others  in  the  Puget  Sound  district, 
but  their  extent  is  not  yet  ascertained.  The  Kittitass  County  deposit  is 
at  Cle-elum  and  is  easily  tapped  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  The 
deposits  of  King  and  Pierce  Counties  are  now  regularly  aimed  at  by  this 
railway,  and  by  the  Seattle,  Take  Shore  and  Eastern  Railway,  which  is 
already  under  contract  to  be  laid  to  the  Snoqualmie  Pass. 

Near  the  last-named  point  is  what  is  known  as  the  Iron  Mountain, 
where  veins  of  magnetic  iron  ore  are  found  varying  in  thickness  from  6 to 
150  feet.  Assays  of  this  have  shown  only  a small  proportion  of  sulphur. 
Of  the  deposits  at  Cle-elum,  I have  been  able  to  get  no  data  that  can  be 
relied  upon,  and  I can  only  state  that  they  are  reported  to  be  the  equal  of 
the  Snoqualmie  iron  riches.  Nothing  but  want  of  transportation  has  re- 
tarded the  development  of  a prodigious  industry  in  this  metal,  and  this 
transportation  is  now  at  hand.  When  we  consider  these  treasures  of  iron, 
the  fact  that  deposits  of  coal  and  limestone  are  at  hand,  and  all  within  a 
short  distance  of  many  harbors,  as  fine  as  any  others  in  the  world,  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  capital  is  rapidly  seeking  this  region  for  man- 
ufactures. 

OTHER  MINERALS. 

Limestone  is  found  in  large  quantities  in  the  counties  of  Pierce  and 
San  Juan.  There  is  in  the  former  county  a coal  that  has  been  found  of 
high  quality  for  coke.  Sandstone  is  in  great  quarries  in  Whatcom  and 
Pierce  Counties,  as  well  as  in  King  and  some  others. 

THE  SALMON  FISHERIES. 

One  of  the  leading  industries  of  Washington  Territory  is  the  salmon 
fisheries  of  the  Columbia  River,  Shoalwater  Bay,  Gray’s  Harbor,  and 
Puget  Sound. 

The  business  of  taking  salmon,  with  traps,  on  the  Columbia  and 
packing  them  in  brine  in  kits  and  barrels,  or  smoking  them,  has  been  pur- 


32 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


sued  from  the  earliest  period  of  settlement;  and  those  who  engaged  in 
the  business  derived  considerable  profit,  for  the  fish  were  easily  caught, 
and  all  materials  used  were  cheap,  while  there  was  a ready  demand  for 
the  product  at  fair  prices. 

This  wealth  of  fish  in  the  rivers  of  the  West  was  one  of  the  strongest 
arguments  advanced  for  holding  it  against  the  British  during  the  “50°  40' 
or  fight”  agitation,  from  1840  until  it  culminated  in  the  settlement  of  our 
title  to  the  line  of  490  north  latitude.  Many  men  from  the  State  of  Maine 
came  here  to  pursue  this  industry,  and  did  so  with  profit,  as  stated  above, 
in  a comparatively  small  way  until  about  1865  or  1866,  when  the  first  ex- 
periment of  preserving  salmon  fresh,  in  hermetically  sealed  cans,  was  tried 
on  the  Columbia  River.  The  fish  were  of  the  very  best  variety,  called 
Chinook.  They  were  very  fat;  were  taken  shortly  after  leaving  salt-water; 
were  so  abundant  that  only  the  finest  specimens  need  be  used,  and  great 
pains  were  taken  in  putting  them  up.  On  all  of  these  accounts  the  Col- 
umbia river  canned  salmon,  as  an  article  of  luxury,  rose  into  immediate 
favor  all  over  the  world,  and  owing  to  the  great  demand  commanded  a 
very  high  price.  The  pioneers  in  the  business,  in  consequence,  made 
money  very  rapidly,  and  the  large  profits  induced  others  to  embark  in 
similar  enterprises.  So  that  the  business  was  rapidly  developed,  and  has 
for  the  past  sixteen  years  given  employment  to  several  thousand  men  and 
a very  large  amount  of  capital.  At  the  present  time  it  is  claimed  that  six 
thousand  persons  and  more  than  $2,000,000  are  required  to  conduct  the 
different  operations  on  the  Columbia  river  alone. 

As  the  business  increased  in  importance  canneries  were  started  on  all 
the  rivers  along  the  coast,  from  those  putting  into  San  Francisco  Bay  to 
those  of  Alaska  in  the  far  north.  In  this  Territory  the  streams  putting 
into  Shoalwater  Bay,  Gray’s  Harbor,  and  Puget  Sound  are  utilized,  and 
salmon  are  taken  with  gill  and  purse  nets  in  the  open  bays  and  sounds. 

In  order  to  show  the  magnitude  of  this  business  I quote  the  following 
table  from  the  Daily  Oregonian,  of  Portland  Oregon,  of  August  11,  1887: 


Year. 


1866.. 

1867. . 
1868  . 

1869.. 

1870. . 

1871. . 

1872. . 

1873.  • 

1874.  • 

1875.. 

1876.  . 

1877.. 


Pack. 

Value. 

Year. 

Pack. 

Value. 

4,000 

1 64,000 

1878 

460,000 

$ 2,300.000 « 

18,000 

288,000 

1879 

480,000 

2,640,000- 

28,000 

392,000 

1880  

530,000 

2,650,000- 

100,000 

b 35o,ooo 

1881 

550,000 

2,475,000- 

150,000 

1,800,000 

1882 

54i,  3°° 

2,600,000 

200,000 

2, 100,000 

1883 

629,400 

3,147,000 

250,000 

2, 325,000 

1884  

620,000 

2,945,000 

250,000 

2,250,000 

1885  

553,8oo 

2,500,000 

350,000 

2,625,000 

1886 

448,500 

2,  135,000 

375,ooo 

2,250,000 

1887 

356,000 

2,124,000 

450,000 

2,475,000 

45,862,000 

460,000 

2,490,000 

Total  in  22  years 

This,  it  should  be  remembered,  represents  the  value  of  salmon  packed 
in  cans  since  the  beginning  of  the  canning  industry,  in  1866.  It  takes  no' 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


33 


account  of  the  salt-packed  in  barrels  nor  of  the  large  consumptive  value  of 
the  salmon. 

I have  not  been  able  to  obtain  information  from  the  fisheries  of  Puget 
Sound,  as  my  requests  to  the  fishermen  for  information  have  not  been 
acted  upon  in  time  for  this  report. 

From  an  elaborate  statement  furnished  by  Mr.  B.  A.  Seaborg,  of 
Ilwaco,  I obtain  the  following  figures  of  an  average  season  on  Shoalwater 
Bay  and  Gray’s  Harbor: 


capital  invested. 

Shoalwater  Bay $85,000 

Gray’s  Harbor.  82,500 

Total 167,500 

AMOUNT  PAID  FOR  EABOR. 

Shoalwater  Bay $99,070 

Gray’s  Harbor  80,700 


Total 


Shoalwater  Bay ...  . 
Gray’s  Harbor 


TOTAE  PACKED. 


179,770 


cases  40,000 
“ 32,000 


By  the  enactment  olf  proper  laws  regulating  the  taking  of  fish  and 
their  strict  inforcement  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  our  rivers  will  con- 
tinue to  yield  at  this  rate  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time.  Heretofore 
the  laws  have  been  defective,  and,  on  that  account,  have  been  difficult  of 
enforcement;  and  in  consequence  of  wasteful  and  extravagant  methods 
grave  fears  have  arisen  that  the  supply  of  salmon  would  become  exhausted. 
It  is  hoped  that  the  legislature  of  this  Territory  will  this  winter  amend 
the  statutes  in  the  interest  of  the  preservation  of  the  industry,  and  that 
all  those  who  depend  upon  it  will  assist  in  their  rigid  enforcement. 

SHIP-BUILDING. 

Ship-yards,  with  facilities  for  the  construction  of  large  vessels,  exist 
at  nearly  all  the  large  milling  establishments  and  at  Seattle  and  Tacoma, 
on  Puget  Sound,  at  Gray’s  Harbor  and  Shoalwater  Bay,  and  at  Skomoka- 
wa,  on  the  Columbia  River. 

The  industry  has  been  very  greatly  stimulated  during  the  last  year  to 
meet  a demand  for  vessels  in  the  lumber-carrying  trade.  Timber  ships, 
for  convenience  of  storage,  are  built  generally  with  one  deck,,  and  to  meet 
this  exigency  must  be  unusually  well  timbered  and  supplied  with  knees. 
All  raw  materials  for  their  construction  are  found  here,  and  the  number  of 
skilled  workmen  is  every  year  growing  greater.  The  industry  has  become 
so  permanent  that  most  of  the  yards  are  putting  in  expensive  special  ma- 
chinery and  all  modern  appliances  for  saving  labor  and  securing  accuracy 
of  design. 

As  most  vessels  built  here  are  intended  for  coasters,  the  tendency  of 
late  has  been  to  the  schooner  rig,  three  and  four  masts  being  put  into  some 
of  them. 


34 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


A large  proportion  of  the  later  additions  to  the  lumber  fleet  have 
auxiliary  steam  power,  and  are  enabled  by  means  thereof  to  make  many 
more  voyages  than  heretofore.  The  yellow  fir  of  the  north  Pacific  coast 
ranks  next  to  oak  for  strength  and  durability,  and  constitutes  excellent 
material  for  ship-building.  The  young  growth  of  this  wood  can  be  ob- 
tained in  any  length  and  of  any  size,  for  spars,  keels,  and  kelsons.  The 
keel  of  a steam  schooner  now  on  the  stocks  at  Skomokawa  is  16  by  19 
inches  square  and  1 50  feet  long.  The  stick  from  which  it  was  hewn  was 
150  feet  long,  4^  feet  in  diameter  at  the  butt,  and  2 feet  at  the  top.  Planks 
for  the  sides  of  vessels  can  be  obtained  of  great  length  and  very  straight 
grain;  and  deck  planks,  made  from  the  very  large  trees  handled  by  our 
mills,  are  sawed  so  that  the  grain  of  the  wood  is  verticle,  this  causing  it  to 
wear  without  splintering.  There  are  about  800  men  employed  in  ship- 
building in  this  Territory  at  present,  and  more  could  find  employment 
readily. 

The  number  of  vessels  of  various  kinds  built  during  the  fiscal  year, 
as  shown  by  the  report  of  the  custom-house  at  Port  Townsend,  is  29,  and 
their  net  tonnage  4,854.36  against  14  vessels  and  1,642.29  tons  in  1885, 
the  date  of  last  report.  I have  advices  of  ships  that  are  to  be  put  on  the 
stocks  during  the  next  fiscal  year  that  will  raise  the  figures  of  this  year 
very  considerably,  not  only  as  to  number  of  craft  of  different  rigs  and 
means  of  propulsion,  but  as  to  average  net  tonnage. 

There  is  great  need  of  a dry-dock  on  Puget  Sound,  not  only  to  ac- 
commodate our  commercial  marine,  but  for  the  use  of  Government  ves- 
sels; and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that,  as  the  questions  of  rehabilitating  our  Navy 
and  increasing  our  means  of  coast  defence  are  now  being  prominently  con- 
sidered, the  strategic  importance  of  the  coast  of  Washington  Territory,  it 
being  on  the  borders  of  a possible  belligerent  and  in  proximity  to  a form- 
idable naval  station  of  a foreign  power,  will  not  be  overlooked. 

horticulture. 

I am  indebted  to  Mr.  Henry  Bucey,  president  of  the  Washington 
Horticultural  Society,  for  the  following  general  article  upon  the  horticul- 
ture of  the  Territory: 

Washington  Territory  presents  one  of  the  greatest  fields  for  the  horticulturist 
that  is  to  be  found  in  the  United  States. 

But  in  order  to  describe  the  Territory  properly  as  regards  its  adaptation  to  horti- 
cultural pursuits,  it  will  be  necessary  to  divide  the  Territory  nearly  north  and  south 
by  the  Cascade  range  of  mountains  and  designate  the  parts  as  Eastern  and  Western 
Washington.  The  eastern  portion  is  principally  prairie  land  covered  with  bunch 
grass;  this  land  is  very  fertile  and  produces  an  almost  incredible  amount  of  cereals. 
But  along  the  water-courses  of  eastern  Washington,  not  only  of  the  Columbia  river 
which  drains  that  country,  but  along  nearly  all  streams  tributary  to  it,  can  be  found 
fine  land  and  climate  for  growing  apples,  pears,  plums,  cherries,  and  in  some  places 
peaches  are  grown  very  successfully  and  profitably,  while  small  fruit  growing  is  made 
immensely  profitable.  Grapes  and  melons  are  also  produced  here  in  great  abund- 
ance, melons  growing  to  perfection  upon  prairie  lands. 

The  cause  of  these  particularities  being  so  favorable  to  fruit  culture  is  attributed 
to  the  influence  of  the  warm  winds  from  the  Japan  current,  which  sweeps  across  the 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


35 


Pacific  Ocean  in  a northeasterly  course  from  the  South  Sea  Islands,  striking  the  shores 
of  Oregon  and  Washington.  These  winds  blow  up  the  Columbia  river  and  other 
channels  tributary  to  the  ocean,  until  their  influence  is  lost  by  coming  in  contact 
with  cold  air  at  certain  altitudes. 

That  this  is  considered  the  true  cause  and  theory  is  further  demonstrated  from  this 
fact:  That  on  certain  localities  on  the  Columbia  river  and  on  other  water-courses 
where  the  river  suddenly  curves,  and  there  is  low  land  on  one  side  and  high  on  the 
other,  which  somewhat  arrests  the  current  of  air  and  causes  an  accumulation  at  this 
point,  it  will  be  found  that  those  places  are  admirably  adapted  to  growing  peaches 
and  grapes  and  other  less  hardy  fruits,  in  great  abundance  and  of  excellent  quality. 
Yet  this  section  of  country  is  somewhat  like  some  of  the  Eastern  States;  it  is  occa- 
sionally subject  to  severe  frost  in  the  winter  and  early  spring,  killing  both  fruit  and 
trees. 

The  Walla  Walla,  Yakima,  Snake  River,  and  other  valleys  are  famous  for  pro- 
ducing fruits;  and  those  engaged  in  fruit  raising  in  these  localities  find  it  very  profit- 
able, as  high  prices  are  obtained  from  home  demand. 

Western  Washington  is  more  favorably  adapted  to  fruit  culture  generally,  as  the 
mild  climate  of  this  section,  being  free  from  the  severe  frost  of  winter  and  the  hot 
and  dry  weather  of  the  summer,  makes  it  in  every  respect  the  natural  home  of  the 
apple,  pear,  plum,  prune,  and  cherry,  which  small  fruits  grow  in  great  abundance, 
except  the  grape,  which  does  only  moderately  well. 

This  section  of  country  justly  deserves  the  reputation  accorded  to  it  for  the  pro- 
duction of  fine  apples,  as  all  those  fine  and  popular  varieties  which  are  so  difficult  to 
product  elsewhere  grow  to  perfection  here  with  but  ordinary  care.  The  trees  grow 
thriftily  and  bear  young;  overbearing  is  a thing  to  be  guarded  against,  and  hand- 
picking and  shaking  must  be  resorted  to. 

This  is  the  natural  climate  and  soil  for  the  pear,  and  the  fruit  produced  here  is  in 
size  and  quality,  perfection.  And  as  the  pear.growing  district  of  the  United  States  is 
more  limited  and  restricted  by  reason  of  pear  blight  and  other  diseases  and  causes, 
the  production  of  this  fruit  alone  in  this  section  will  be  immensely  profitable. 

The  production  of  plums  and  prunes  in  Western  Washington  is  the  wonder  and 
astonishment  of  all  who  visit  its  orchards  and  gardens;  for  size,  quality,  and  quantity 
they  can  not  be  surpassed  by  any  country.  There  is  no  insect  to  prey  upon  the  fruit 
or  the  tree,  and  the  fruit  is  perfect.  The  tree  grows  vigorously  and  bears  early.  A 
profit  of  $600  per  acre  has  been  realized  from  a prune  orchard  of  ten-year-old  trees. 
Prune  raising,  especially  in  what  is  called  the  Sound  country,  is  destined  in  the  near 
future  to  become  one  of  the  leading  industries.  As  this  section  of  country  is  con- 
tinually under  the  influence  of  the  Japan  current,  making  the  winters  mild  and  the 
summers  not  exceedingly  hot,  I expect  to  see  in  the  near  future  numerous  drying 
houses  and  fruit  canneries  located  on  Puget  Sound.  The  cherry  also  is  grown  here  to 
perfection,  from  the  Early  Richmond  for  tarts  to  the  sweet  and  delicious  Elton  and 
Royal  Ann.  The  trees  bear  so  heavily  that  the  cherries  completely  encircle  the 
branches,  forming  in  appearance  a rope  of  cherries.  The  trees  grow  more  thriftily 
than  any  other  fruit  trees,  and  the  cherries  are  superior  in  size  and  quality;  all  fine 
varieties  of  cherries  do  well  here. 

The  peach  has  not  been  successfully  grown  here,  yet  some  seasons  fine  fruit  of 
this  species  is  produced.  I do  not  consider  this  a good  climate,  generally  speaking, 
for  growing  the  peach  or  the  grape;  but  for  all  kinds  of  small  fruit,  such  as  strawber- 
ries, blackberries,  raspberries,  currants,  gooseberries,  and  cranberries,  this  country 
can  not  be  excelled.  The  cranberry  is  now  being  successfully  and  profitably  culti- 
vated wherever  tried,  and  strawberries  were  raised  here  this  last  season  that  measured 
7 inches  in  circumference,  several  tons  of  fine  berries  being  raised  to  the  acre.  To 
those  engaged,  or  who  contemplate  engaging  in  fruit  raising  in  this  country  the  fu- 
ture is  very  promising,  owing  to  the  superior  advantages  afforded  for  marketing  all 
fruits.  The  completion  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  has  opened  to  market  all  the 
country  east  as  far  as  Chicago,  and  steamer  transportation  to  foreign  counties  will 
give  us  a vast  market  for  all  dried  and  canned  fruits  that  we  can  raise,  making  over- 
production impossible. 

In  order  to  advance  and  encourage  fruit  raising  throughout  the  Territory,  there 
was  organized  in  the  city  of  Tacoma,  on  March  15,  1887,  the  Horticultural  Society, 
composed  of  the  leading  horticulturists  of  the  Territory.  Henry  Bucey  was  elected 
president,  and  Ezra  Meeker  vice-president;  the  former  resides  in  Tacoma,  the  latter 
in  Puyallup.  The  society  has  printed  in  neat  form  its  constitution  and  by-laws, 
which  provide  for  the  organization  of  branch  societies  in  the  various  horticultural 
districts  of  the  Territory.  Many  branch  societies  have  been  organized  in  Eastern  and 
Western  Washington,  and  much  good  is  being  accomplished  through  this  society. 


36 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


The  first  semi-annual  meeting  of  the  society  was  held  at  the  city  of  Tacoma,  on  June 
29,  1887,  and  continued  till  July  6.  The  meeting  was  held  in  a large  tent,  purchased 
by  the  society  for  that  purpose,  in  which,  also,  an  exhibit  of  the  horticultural  pro- 
ducts of  the  Territory  was  had. 

The  display  of  fruit,  flowers,  and  vegetables  was  grand,  and  it  would  have  been 
a credit  to  any  of  the  older  fruit-producing  States  of  the  Union.  The  fruits  were  dis- 
played upon  branches,  both  ripe  and  unripe;  and  most  of  the  popular  varieties  of  the 
various  fruits  that  are  grown  in  the  Middle  and  Northern  States  were  well  repre- 
sented. 

I have  obtained,  and  append,  the  following  list  of  the  kinds  of  fruits 
exhibited  at  the  meeting  of  the  society  at  Tacoma: 

Cherry. — Black  Republican,  Royal  Ann,  May  Duke,  Elton,  Date  Duke,  Kentish, 
Governor  Wood,  Major  Francis,  Klacamas,  Yellow  Spanish,  Blackheart,  Black  Tar- 
tarian, Great  Bigarian. 

Pears. — Bartlett,  Princess  Germain,  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  Beurre  Gifford,  Beurre 
D’ Anjou,  Flemish  Beauty,  Clapp’s  Favorite,  Epine  Dumas,  Easter  Beurre,  Josephine 
de  Malines,  Onondaga,  Winter  Nelle’s,  Dagenne  De’te,  Louisa  Bonne  de  Jersey, 
Pound  Pear,  Dix,  Early  Madeline. 

Apples. — Baldwin,  Esopus,  Spitzenberg,  Early  Harvest,  Fall  Pippin,  Rhode 
Island  Sweetning,  Red  Astrachan,  Telopky,  Blue  Pearmain,  Yellow  and  Red  Bell- 
flower, Gravenstien,  Duchess  of  Oldenburg,  Waxen,  Walbridge,  Vandiver,  July 
Bough,  Harvest  Queen,  Golden  Russett,  Wagoner,  King  of  Tompkins  County,  Red 
and  Sweet  June,  English  Russett,  Lady  Apple. 

Plums. — Columbia,  Bradshaw,  Washington,  Jefferson,  Yellow  Egg,  Howe’s  Gol- 
den Drop,  Early  and  Late  Peach  Plum,  Green  Gage,  Imperial  Gage,  Claude  de  Ba- 
vay,  Damson. 

Prunes. — Italian,  German,  Gros  d’Agen,  Petit  d’Agen. 

Peaches. — Amsden,  Early  Rivers,  Hale’s  Early,  Early  Rare  Ripe,  David  Hill, 
Early  Beatrice,  Snow  Peach,  Early  Crawford,  Alexander,  Heath  Cling. 

Crab  Apple. — Vanwyck,  Transcendant,  Siberian  Marengo,  Hyslop,  Briar  Sweet. 

Quinces. — Apple  Shape,  Rea’s  Mammoth. 

FTORACUI/FURE. 

To  lovers  of  flowers  Washington  Territory  presents  an  inviting  field. 
The  mountains  and  prairies  of  Eastern  Washington  are  beautifully  deco- 
rated in  the  spring  with  numerous  wild  flowers,  both  plants  and  shrubs; 
and  nearly  all  flowers  grown  in  the  Middle  or  Northern  States  can  be  very 
successfully  grown  here. 

But  the  mild  climate  of  Western  Washington  makes  it  indeed  “flower 
land.”  Nearly  all  flowers  that  can  be  grown  north  of  the  thirty-fifth 
parallel  of  latitude  can  be  grown  here.  Roses  do  well  in  out-door  culture; 
even  the  Marechal  Neil  rose  will  stand  the  winters  here,  and  a climbing 
rose  would  soon  cover  a house  if  permitted  to  grow  unpruned.  All  kinds 
of  flowering  bulbs  do  well;  even  the  gladiolus  can  be  left  out  during  the 
winter.  The  hyacinth  grows  so  well  that  a florist  living  in  Pierce  county 
has  made  their  cultivation  a specialty,  and  the  hyacinths  produced  in  his 
gardens  are  superior  to  those  imported  from  Holland.  This  industry  is 
destined  to  be  one  of  importance  here,  for  growing  hyacinths  for  commer- 
cial purposes  can  be  made  very  profitable. 

UNDEVEEOPED  RESOURCES. 

Very  few  of  the  resources  of  this  Territory  can  be  said  to  be  fully  de- 
veloped, so  nearly  all  the  vast  list  could  come  under  this  head;  but  I will 
only  mention  a few. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


37 


What  is  needed  just  now  is  capital  to  develop  the  very  extensive  and 
valuable  iron  mines.  These  are  in  proximity  to  lime  and  coal,  and  all  are 
convenient  to  tide-water. 

On  the  upper  Skagit  River  are  said  to  be  extensive  quarries  of  the 
finest  marble.  Specimens  shown  to  me  as  coming  from  there  were  suit- 
able for  statuary. 

There  are  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  lead,  copper  and  other  minerals 
that  are  pronounced  to  be  vaster  in  extent  and  richer  than  those  of  Cceur 
d’Alene  in  Idaho.  These  are  at  present  comparatively  inaccessible,  but 
projected  railways  will  soon  reach  them. 

Off  the  coast  of  Washington  Territory  are  banks  that  afford  the  finest 
cod  and  halibut  fishing.  The  difficulty  in  utilizing  them  arises  from  the 
fact  that  the  banks  extend  into  British  waters,  and  American  vessels  are 
not  permitted  to  follow  the  migratory  fishes  to  the  northward.  This  cir- 
cumstance practically  destroys  the  value  of  the  fisheries  for  both  nations, 
as  the  banks  extend  along  the  coasts  of  Oregon,  Washington,  British 
Columbia,  and  Alaska,  and  the  schools  of  fish  are  constantly  changing 
their  position.  Vessels,  if  not  permitted  to  follow  them,  must  therefore, 
be  alternately  busy  and  idle  for  uncertain  periods. 

Petroleum  is  believed  to  exist  under  the  Puget  Sound  Basin,  and  ex- 
perts have  stated  it  will  certainly  be  found  in  paying  quantities  whenever 
borings  are  made  to  the  proper  depth. 

Thousands  of  acres  of  the  richest  lands  that  are  overflowed  only  by 
the  highest  tides  exist  on  Puget  Sound,  Gray’s  Harbor,  Shoalwater  Bay, 
and  the  Columbia  river.  These  lands  are  easily  diked,  and,  when  so  pro- 
tected, yield  almost  incredible  quantities  of  oats,  hay,  and  other  crops. 

Targe  areas  of  bottom  lands  are  covered  with  the  cottonwoods  out  of 
which  paper-pulp  is  made,  and  the  limited  number  of  mills  for  using  it 
now  in  operation  are  paying  investments. 

Forests  of  larch  and  white  pine,  finer  and  more  extensive  than  any 
yet  opened  by  loggers,  exist  in  remote  localities  where  railroads  of  con- 
siderable length  must  be  constructed  to  move  their  products. 

Hemlock  bark  for  tanning  purposes  may  be  readily  and  cheaply  ob- 
tained, and  also  other  raw  materials  for  the  manufacture  of  leather.  The 
few  tanneries  in  the  Territory  are  paying  profits  to  their  owners. 

Altogether  there  are  no  more  inviting  fields  in  the  United  States  for  the 
investment  of  capital  than  Washington  Territory. 

land  taws. 

The  following  information  concerning  the  public-land  laws  for  the  dis- 
posal of  Government  lands  in  Washington  Territory  may  be  useful  to  the 
intending  immigrant: 

All  lands  which  are  for  sale  or  other  disposal  by  the  Government  un- 
der general  laws  are  known  as  public  lands,  and  are  divided  into  land 


38 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


districts,  in  each  of  which  is  a land  office  presided  over  by  two  officers, 
known  respectively,  as  the  register  and  the  receiver. 

There  are  five  of  these  districts  in  this  Territory. 

The  register  and  receiver  act  as  agents  for  the  Government,  and  pat- 
ents will  be  issued  for  all  lands  sold  or  otherwise  disposed  of  by  them,  if 
approved  by  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Eand  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Agricultural  lands  are  disposed  of  to  actual  settlers  only  under  the 
homestead,  pre-emption,  and  timber-culture  laws. 

Desert  lands  are  such  as  will  not  produce  crops  without  irrigation  by 
artificial  means. 

Timber  lands  are  those  not  fit  for  cultivation,  being  chiefly  valuable 
for  the  timber,  160  acres  of  which  can  be  purchased  without  residence  and 
improvement  for  $2.50  per  acre;  also  lands  valuable  for  stone  can  be  pur- 
chased under  the  same  act  of  June  3,  1878. 

Within  the  limits  of  railroad  grants  only  the  even  numbered  sections 
are  disposed  of  by  the  Government,  and  these  are  known  as  double-mini- 
mum land,  and  when  entered  under  the  pre-emption  law  the  price  is  $2.50 
per  acre. 

Outside  the  railroad  limits  the  land  is  known  as  minimum  land,  and 
is  sold  at  $1.25  per  acre. 

Citizenship  is  required,  or  a declaration  to  become  a citizen  of  the 
United  States,  before  any  public  lands  can  be  taken  in  this  Territory. 

Only  one  claim  can  be  taken  by  the  same  person  under  each  of  the 
public-land  laws  of  the  United  States. 

the  homestead  eaw. 

Every  citizen  of  the  United  States  who  is  over  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  or  the  head  of  a family,  can  take  a 160  acres  of  the  public  lands  (ag- 
gricultural)  by  establishing  a residence  thereon  and  cultivating  the  same 
in  good  faith  as  a home  for  five  years  from  the  date  of  settlement;  or  if, 
after  six  months’  residence  and  cultivation,  such  persons  so  desire,  they 
may  commute  their  homestead  claim  by  paying  the  Government  price 
therefor,  or  if  a soldier  or  sailor,  who,  having  served  in  the  Army  or  Navy 
of  the  United  States  during  the  recent  rebellion,  has  been  honorably  dis- 
charged, the  time  of  his  service  will  be  deducted  from  the  five  years’  resi- 
dence required. . But  in  such  cases  a residence  of  one  year*  on  the  land 
becomes  necessary  before  patent  will  be  issued. 

THE  PRE-EMPTION  EAW. 

Residence,  cultivation,  and  sufficient  improvements  to  show  the  good 
faith  of  the  claimant  are  required. 

Ond  hundred  and  sixty  acres  can  be  taken  of  agricultural  land;  qual- 
ification as  to  age  and  citizenship  is  the  same  as  under  the  homestead  law. 
The  claimant  must  not  be  the  owner  of  320  acres  of  land,  nor  leave  land 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


39 


of  his  own  in  this  Territory  (town  lot  excepted)  in  order  to  settle  upon  a 
pre-emption  claim,  nor  take  such  claim  for  the  purpose  of  speculation  in- 
stead of  residence  and  cultivation. 

The  good  faith  of  every  claimant  must  be  clearly  established. 

He  may  change  his  pre-emption  filing  to  a homestead  by  making 
proper  application  to  the  land  office.  Not  less  than  six  months’  residence 
and  improvement  are  required  by  law  before  payment  can  be  made. 

On  offered  lands  the  declaratory  statement  must  be  filed  within  thirty 
days  and  the  final  proof  made  within  one  year  from  the  date  of  settlement. 
On  unoffered  lands  the  declaratory  statement  must  be  filed  within  three 
months  and  the  final  proof  made  within  thirty-three  months  from  the  date 
of  settlement. 

The  price  for  minimum  land  is  $1.25  and  for  double-minimum  land 
$2.50  per  acre. 

TlMBER-CUIyTURE  DAW. 

Qualifications  of  claimant  the  same  as  to  age,  citizenship,  and  good 
faith. 

Amount  of  land  160  acres.  Rand  must  be  devoid  of  timber.  During 
the  first  year  at  least  5 acres  must  be  plowed.  The  second  year  said  5 
acres  must  be  actually  cultivated  to  crop  and  a second  5 acres  plowed. 
The  third  year  the  first  5 acres  must  be  planted  in  timber,  seeds,  or  cut- 
tings, and  the  second  5 acres  actually  cultivated  to  crop.  The  fourth, 
year  the  second  5 acres  must  be  planted  in  timber,  seeds,  or  cuttings;  mak- 
ing, at  the  end  of  the  fourth  year,  10  acres  thus  planted. 

If  the  claim  is  less  than  160  acres,  the  area  plowed  and  planted  will 
be  in  the  same  proportion  as  for  160  acres;  that  is,  one-sixteenth  of  the 
claim.  Not  less  than  2,700  trees  must  be  planted  on  each  acre  to  entitle 
the  claimant  to  patent  at  the  expiration  of  eight  years  from  date  of  entry. 

Residence  in  the  territory  is  not  required  for  timber  culture. 

COAE-EAND  EAWS. 

Same  qualifications  as  to  age  and  citizenship. 

One  person  can  purchase  160  acres  of  coal  land.  If  within  15  miles 
of  a complete  railroad,  the  price  is  $20  per  acre;  if  outside  that  distance, 
$10.  An  association  of  persons  may  purchase  320  acres,  or  an  associa- 
tion of  not  less  than  four  persons,  who  make  an  expenditure  of  $5,000 
upon  their  claim,  may  purchase  640  acres,  including  their  improvements. 

Coal-land  declaratory  statements  must  be  filed  within  sixty  days  and 
proof  and  payment  made  within  fourteen  months  from  date  of  possession. 

TIMBER  AND  STONE  EAND  EAWS. 

Rand  chiefly  valuable  for  timber  and  stone,  by  the  act  of  June  3,  1878, 
can  be  purchased  in  this  Territory  for  $2.50  per  acre,  area  160  acres;  no 
residence  or  improvements  necessary.  Married  women  may  make  entries 
under  this  act. 


40 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Pierce  County. 

PIERCE  County  was  organized  in  the  year  1852,  area  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  square  miles,  a large  proportion  of  which  is  heavily  timbered 
land,  but  there  is  considerable  area  of  rich  land  in  the  river  and  valley 
bottoms.  It  lies  on  either  side  of  Puget  Sound,  and  the  lands  adjacent  to 
water  frontage  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  raising  of  fruits,  from  the  fact 
that  frosts  are  less  liable  to  injure  the  buds  than  on  lands  lying  eight  or 
ten  miles  back  from  the  water.  Most  of  the  land  lying  between  Tacoma, 
Steilacoom  and  the  Nisqually  river  is  gravelly  prairie  land,  with  scattering 
swamp  and  swale  lands.  The  soil  on  this  prairie  generally  is  shallow  and 
fit  only  for  grazing  in  the  spring  and  fall.  It  is  dotted  with  a growth  of 
young  fir,  with  occasional  cedar  and  scrub  oak  trees,  and  fresh  water  lakes, 
which  gives  it  a picturesque  appearance.  Intrinsically  these  prairie  lands 
have  no  value.  The  swamps,  when  drained,  are  highly  productive.  The 
chief  agricultural  portions  of  Pierce  county  are  the  Puyallup  valley,  the 
Stuck  valley  and  the  Upper  White  River  valley.  These  are  each  treated 
in  their  turn. 

The  population  of  Pierce  county  in  1885  was  11,565.  In  1883  it  was 
6,177.  The  population  now  is  not  less  than  twenty  thousand.  The 
assessed  valuation  of  Pierce  county  for  1885  was  $5, 342, 889.  For  1886 
it  was  $6,098,908.  In  1885  Pierce  county  ranked  third  in  the  Territory. 
This  year  it  ranks  second.  The  number  of  acres  assessed  in  Pierce 
county  is  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand.  The  number  of  acres 
improved  about  ten  thousand.  Agricultural  products  show  a yearly  in- 
creasing ratio.  The  county  is  extending  roads  into  the  more  remote  por- 
tions of  the  county,  and  school  accommodations  are  increasing  as  the 
country  settles  up.  Good  government  land  cannot  now  be  found  open  to 
entry  in  Pierce  county,  except  remote  from  towns  and  the  railroad. 
PUYALLUP  VALLEY. 

The  Puyallup  valley  lies  on  either  side  of  the  Puyallup  river,  which 
empties  into  Puget  Sound  near  Tacoma.  Its  width  varies  from  about  five 
miles  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  less  than  a quarter  of  a mile  thirty 
miles  east  from  Tacoma.  The  main  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad 
traverses  the  whole  length  of  the  valley.  This  valley  enjoys  a reputation 
for  hop  culture  second  to  no  other  section  of  the  United  States.  The  soil 
is  an  alluvial  deposit,  in  some  places  mixed  with  sand,  and  is  noted  for  its 
productiveness,  The  chief  products  raised  are  hops,  hay,  fruits  and  vege- 
tables. The  climate  is  too  cool  and  moist  for  corn.  The  following  statis- 
tics for  the  year  1886,  referring  to  the  hop  culture  of  Pierce  county,  will 


be  of  interest: 

Number  of  acres  under  hop  vines  840 

Number  of  pounds  produced  during  the  year.  . 1,530,000 

Maximum  price  per  pound .35 

Average  price  per  pound .23 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


4 


A large  portion  of  the  hops  of  Pierce  county  are  marketed  in  London. 
The  estimated  cost  of  raising  hops  and  putting  them  in  the  bale  cured 
ready  for  market  is  from  six  to  eight  cents  per  pound.  The  chief  town  of 
the  Puyallup  valley  is  Puyallup,  which  is  the  center  of  the  hop  industry. 
Other  towns  in  this  valley,  along  the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad 
are  Alderton,  Orting  and  South  Prairie.  At  the  head  of  the  valley  are 
located  the  famous  coal  mines  of  Carbonado,  Wilkeson  and  South  Prairie. 
The  shipments  frdm  the  Carbonado  mine  for  the  year  1886  were  176,330  tons. 
From  the  South  Prairie  mine  there  was  shipped  during  the  same  year  55,- 
220  tons.  MoSt  of  these  shipments  were  consigned  to  California.  The 
total  out-put  for  the  Carbonado  and  South  Prairie  mines  for  the  year  ag- 
gregated 231,250  tons.  The  Tacoma  Coal  Company’s  mine  at  Wilkeson 
has  not  been  in  operation  this  year,  the  company  being  engaged  in  putting 
in  coke  ovens,  of  which  about  thirty  are  now  in  operation,  with  an  out- 
put of  twenty  tons  daily.  The  company  will  continue  the  construction  of 
these  ovens  until  one  hundred  of  them  are  completed. 

THE  FAMOUS  STUCK  VALLEY. 

The  Stuck  river  valley  lies  between  the  White  and  Puyallup  rivers, 
and  consists  of  a tract  about  two  miles  in  width  and  seven  to  ten  miles  in 
length,  lying  about  nine  or  ten  miles  east  of  Tacoma. 

The  soil  of  the  Stuck  valley  is  of  great  depth  and  consists  of  alluvial 
deposit,  mixed  with  vegetable  mould — the  richest  soil  that  can  be  found 
in  any  gountry  on  the  globe.  The  Stuck  creek  is  a small  stream  which 
branches  off  from  the  White  river  in  King  county  and  empties  into  the 
Puyallup.  The  valley  was  formerly  the  bed  of  an  ancient  stream — the 
hills  on  either  side  rising  rather  abruptly.  The  soil  in  this  valley  is  most 
remarkable.  In  its  wild  state  the  ground  is  wet  and  covered  with  vine 
maple  and  alder  undergrowth,  or  else  with  heavy,  wild  grass.  When 
drained  the  soil  is  found  to  be  rich,  mellow  and  warm. 

In  working  these  lands  the  first  thing  to  be  attended  to  is  the  drainage, 
and  this  is  easily  accomplished  by  undertiling  or  open  ditching — the  latter 
being  perhaps  the  least  expensive;  and  one  peculiarity  of  the  ditches  of 
the  Stuck  valley  being  that  they  do  not  cave  in,  even  if  cut  to  the  depth  of 
several  feet.  In  a short  time  after  this  land  is  properly  ditched  it  is  ready 
to  be  prepared  for  cultivation.  If  covered  with  vine  maple  and  alder  growth, 
these  are  cut  about  a foot  above  the  ground,  and  piled  conveniently  to  be 
burned  when  dry.  As  soon  as  this  slashing  is  done,  the  soil  can  be  util- 
ized at  once  with  grass  seed,  and  in  two  years’  time  the  stumps  and  roots 
will  have  rotted  so  as  to  be  pulled  out  bodily,  while  meantime  the  ground 
has  been  used  for  grazing.  If  the  land  is  of  the  open  kind  it  can  be  put 
under  cultivation  in  one  season  with  little  or  no  delay  after  ditching. 

So  much  for  the  opening  up  of  these  lands.  A trip  through  this  val- 
ley would  astonish  even  a credulous  eastern  man  who  had  never  seen  the 


42 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


like  before,  and  did  not  know  the  immense  yields  obtained  from  these  lands. 

Those  now  cleared  are  chiefly  used  for  the  raising  of  hay  and  hops. 
On  March  ioth  the  writer  of  this  article  has  seen  in  all  of  the  meadows  of 
this  valley,  cattle,  horses  and  sheep  grazing  on  grass  from  four  to  ten 
inches  in  height.  These  hay  lands  are  grazed  until  about  the  middle  of 
April,  when  the  stock  is  taken  off  to  allow  the  hay  to  mature  and  be 
harvested,  after  which,  about  the  middle  of  July,  the  stock  is  again 
turned  on  the  meadows  and  graze  upon  them  until  the  middle  of  the  next 
April.  Thus  used,  these  lands  yield  three  to  five  tons  of  cured  hay  per  acre, 
and  furnish  as  much  more  per  acre  in  grass  feed,  and  some  'have  been  thus 
used  for  twenty  years,  and  are  as  productive  to-day  as  ever.  The  rich- 
ness of  the  soil  and  adaptability  of  the  climate  account  for  these  yields. 
One  acre  of  these  lands  will  keep  from  three  to  five  milch  cows,  or,  put  in 
clover,  will  fatten  ten  hogs  per  annum.  One  acre  has  produced,  in  a sin- 
gle year,  six  hundred  bushels  of  potatoes,  thirty-five  hundred  pounds  of 
hops,  ten  tons  of  clover  (three  crops),  thirty-five  tons  of  sugar-making, 
sugar  beets,  carrying  13  per  cent,  of  saccharine  matter,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  bushels  of  oats,  ninety  bushels  of  barley,  and  six  crops  of 
vegetables.  These  have  been  actual  yields.  On  these  lands  have  been 
raised  8o-pound  squashes,  50-pound  cabbages,  25-pound  rutabagas,  5-pound 
potatoes,  etc. 

The  soil  needs  no  fertilizing.  It  is  always  mellow  and  easily  worked. 
The  bluff  lands  on  the  sides  of  the  valley  afford  building  locations  com- 
manding extensive  views  to  the  White  river  valley  on  the  north*  side,  or 
the  Puyallup  on  the  south.  Abundant  springs  of  cool,  clear  water  burst 
from  the  hills  on  either  side.  Fir  and  cedar  are  abundant  on  the  bluff  land 
back  of  the  valley,  and  a saw  mill  is  in  operation  on  the  middle  of  the 
east  side  of  the  valley.  A new  road  to  Tacoma  is  now  being  graded  and 
graveled  from  about  the  center  of  this  valley,  which  will  shorten  the  dis- 
tance to  about  nine  miles.  The  Stuck  is  sufficiently  deep  at  all  times  of 
the  year  to  float  a bateau  with  several  hundred  bushels  of  vegetables,  and 
market  gardeners  could  thus,  if  they  chose,  bring  their  goods  to  the  Taco- 
ma market  inexpensively  via  the  Puyallup  river. 

Considerable  of  this  land  can  be  obtained  at  moderate  figures.  For  a 
man  of  a small  family  and  moderate  means,  who  desires  to  go  into  grazing 
or  dairying,  forty  acres  is  enough,  and  for  gardening  twenty  acres  is  abun- 
dant. Schools  are  handy.  At  Summer,  situated  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
Stuck  valley,  is  a well  conducted  public  school  and  academy.  A branch 
of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  runs  through  the  valley  into  Tacoma  for 
the  accommodations  of  the  settlers. 

UPPER  WHITE  RIVER  VALLEY. 

The  upper  White  river  valley  comprises  the  land  lying  between  the 
White  and  Green  rivers,  and  consists  of  about  one  hundred  square  miles 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


43 


of  agricultural  and  grazing  lands  lying  between  the  Cascade  mountains 
and  the  confluence  of  these  two  rivers.  The  western  boundary  of  this 
tract  of  land  lies  about  fifteen  miles  due  east  of  the  city  of  Tacoma. 

The  soil  of  this  valley  is,  generally,  an  alluvial  deposit  with  clay  sub- 
soil. The  soil  is  darker  in  color  than  that  of  the  Puyallup  valley  and  al- 
most as  rich,  though  not  so  deep  as  that  of  the  famous  Stuck  valley. 

From  the  confluence  of  these  two  rivers  they  diverge  until  the  great- 
est distance  between  them  across  the  agricultural  area  adjoining  the  foot- 
hills of  the  mountains  is  about  fifteen  miles.  About  equally  distant  from 
each  of  the  two  rivers  and  lying  between  them  is  a ridge  that  divides  the 
water-fall.  This  ridge,  however,  is  not  high  and  precipitous,  and  is  gen- 
erally composed  of  shot  clay  or  clay  loam  adapted  to  the  raising  of  fruits. 

Five  or  six  years  ago  this  land  was  comparatively  unsettled  owing, 
perhaps,  to  the  fact  that  it  was  difficult  of  access  to  the  settler,  there  being 
at  that  time  no  bridge  across  the  White  river  by  which  it  could  be  reached 
by  wagon  road  from  the  Puyallup  valley.  Now,  however,  nearly  all,  if 
not  quite  all  of  the  government  land  has  been  taken,  as  well  as  the  rail- 
road land,  and  scores  of  farmers  find  prosperity  here,  where  but  a few  years 
ago  the  wild  animals  of  the  forest  held  undisputed  sway.  The  first  settlers 
to  take  up  land  in  this  valley  were  compelled  to  ford  the  White  river, 
which  is  turbulent  and  treacherous;  now  a first-class  bridge  spans  the  river, 
where  the  old  military  road  running  from  the  Puyallup  valley  across  Con- 
nell’s prairie  crossed  it  at  the  ford. 

Inside  of  the  last  eighteen  months  the  main  line  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad,  running  from  Eastern  Washington,  has  been  built 
through  it,  and  a station  called  Enumclaw  has  been  established  almost  in 
the  heart  of  the  valley,  giving  the  settlers  here  an  outlet  by  rail  for  their 
stock,  hay,  hops  and  grain. 

The  timber  found  throughout  all  of  this  upper  White  river  valley  on 
the  bottom  lands,  is  not  near  so  dense  as  in  the  lower  White  and  Puyallup 
valleys.  It  consists  generally  of  a bushy  growth  of  vine-maple  and  alder. 
Much  of  this  land  has  been  cleared  at  an  expense  of  but  ten  dollars  per 
acre.  That  the  soil  is  rich  is  attested  by  the  crops  produced  here.  In  the 
yield  and  quality  the  hops  raised  in  this  valley  are  second  to  none  except 
those  raised  in  the  Stuck.  In  vegetables,  hops  and  grain  the  yields  are 
larger  than  in  any  portion  of  the  Puyallup  valley. 

For  grazing  purposes  this  valley  offers  extra  inducements;  the  foot-hills 
of  the  Cascade  mountains  furnishing  an  almost  unlimited  range  for  stock. 

Before  the  building  of  the  Cascade  division  the  settlers  found  difficulty 
in  obtaining  lumber  for  building,  there  being  no  mill  nearer  than  the  Puy- 
allup valley.  Now,  however,  owing  to  the  favorable  rates  given  by  the 
railroad  company,  lumber  can  be  obtained  along  the  line  of  the  road 
almost  as  cheaply  as  in  Tacoma.  A mill  is  now  in  operation  on  the  White 


44 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


river,  near  the  railroad  bridge,  where  all  kinds  of  lumber  can  be  obtained 
as  cheaply  as  at  any  mill  on  Puget  Sound. 

That  the  upper  White  river  valley  will  be  as  thickly  settled  as  any 
valley  tributary  to  Tacoma,  admits  of  no  question. 

Immigrants  coming  here  desiring  to  engage  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
can  find  here  cheaper  lands  than  in  the  Stuck  or  Puyallup  valleys.  They 
will  find  them  easier  to  be  cleared.  They  will  find  them  in  a neighbor- 
hood of  enterprising  Americans  and  thrifty  Germans.  They  will  find 
them  located  accessible  to  market. 

A considerable  portion  of  the  fruit  and  vegetables  raised  in  this  val- 
ley find  their  market  at  the  coal  mines  just  north  of  the  Green  river  and 
south  of  the  White  river. 

There  are  no  valley  lands  on  Puget  Sound  more  easily  drained  than 
these.  Springs  are  abundant,  and  water  easily  obtained  by  digging  wells. 

The  valley  can  be  reached  by  two  routes — one  is  by  the  Cascade  di- 
vision of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  the  other  is  by  the  wagon  road 
leading  from  the  Puyallup  valley  from  Sumner  and  Elhi.  At  present 
the  roads  are  in  poor  condition,  and  the  commissioners  of  Pierce  county 
could  not  expend  money  more  judiciously  than  in  constructing  a first-class 
roadway  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  width  to  this  valley,  and  thus  make  the 
trade  more  directly  tributary  to  Tacoma.  The  most  direct  route  for  this 
road  would  perhaps  be  to  extend  directly  east  the  new  road,  now  almost 
completed,  from  Tacoma  to  the  Stuck  valley. 

In  a few  years  the  upper  White  river  valley  will  have  attained  an  im- 
portance equal  to  that  of  the  Puyallup  or  Stuck. 


« 


Lewis  County. 


EWIS  County  is  situated  about  midway  between  the  Columbia  river  and 


Puget  Sound,  and  is  one  of  the  best  agricultural  counties  in  Western 
Washington;  has  an  area  of  over  2000  square  miles,  consisting  of  rich  al- 
luvial soil,  unsurpassed  in  productiveness  and  easy  cultivation.  On  the 
higher  lands  prairies  of  fine  soil,  woodland  and  brush  lands  alternate. 
Tewis  county  has  a population  of  6000  people — law-abiding,  intelligent 
and  energetic,  and  its  rich  lands,  timber,  forests  and  undeveloped  mines 
will  afford  homes  and  employment  for  twenty  times  its  present  population- 
The  Pacific  division  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  traverses  the 
county  throughout  its  extent  from  north  to  south,  carrying  its  commerce 
very  cheaply  to  Portland,  or  to  the  great  centers  around  Puget  Sound  and 
in  British  Columbia. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


45 


The  Cowlitz  river  is  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Columbia,  flows 
through  the  southern  part  of  the  county  and  is  navigable  for  boats  nearly 
the  year  around,  affording  cheap  transportation  for  the  produce  raised  in 
that  part  of  the  county. 

The  Chehalis  river  flows  through  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county 
and  into  Gray’s  Harbor.  Boats  have  ascended  this  river  as  far  up  as  Che- 
halis City,  the  county  seat  of  Eewis  county;  but  present  boats  only  ascend 
thirty  miles  up  the  river.  Yet,  with  men  of  enterprise  and  liberal  ap- 
propriations, boats  will  be  enabled  to  ascend  to  Chehalis,  thus  opening 
access  to  Gray’s  Harbor,  which  bids  fair  to  become  one  of  the  great  mark- 
ets of  the  northwest. 

This  is  one  of  the  finest  climates  in  the  known  world,  the  thermome- 
ter seldom  rising  above  90°  and  rarely  lower  than  io°  above  zero.  Gener- 
ally we  have  snowfall  lasting  from  one  to  four  weeks,  seldom  longer,  and 
often  but  little  snowfall  the  entire  year.  Cyclones  and  violent  wind  storms 
are  unknown,  and  we  seldom  have  thunder  and  lightning  of  any  account. 
The  year  is  divided  into  two  seasons — the  rainy  or  winter  season  and  the 
summer  season.  The  winter  season  generally  begins  about  the  first  of 
November,  and  lasts  until  about  the  first  of  March.  Then  comes  the 
spring  months  with  occasional  showers  but  of  short  duration,  and  a more 
delightful  climate  cannot  be  found  than  that  of  Western  Washington  dur- 
ing the  spring  and  summer  months.  During  the  warmest  part  of  the  sum- 
mer we  have  a cool  breeze  from  the  Sound  and  Gray’s  Harbor  during  the 
day,  and  the  nights  are  cool  and  pleasant.  The  congeniality  of  the  cli- 
mate, the  purest  of  water,  and  the  close  proximity  to  the  Cascade  mount- 
ains, combine  to  make  this  one  of  the  healthiest  locations  in  the  world. 
Stagnant  pools  of  water  are  seldom  seen.  Our  rivers  and  streams  flow 
directly  from  the  mountains  and  foot-hills  and  are  as  cool  and  pure  as  water 
can  be. 

The  manufacture  of  fir  and  cedar  lumber  is  becoming  one  of  the  lead- 
ing industries  of  Eewis  county.  Within  the  boundaries  of  this  county 
there  are  several  forests  of  timber  hard  to  excel  in  both  quality  and  quan- 
tity. At  least  nine  saw  mills  and  five  shingle  mills  are  in  successful  oper 
ation  in  Eewis  county,  producing  an  output  of  200,000  feet  of  lumber  and 
170,000  shingles  daily. 

Chehalis,  the  county  seat,  is  situated  on  the  line  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R., 
and  has  a population  of  about  600;  is  54  miles  from  Tacoma  and  86  miles 
from  Portland;  is  surrounded  by  one  of  the  finest  farming  communities  in 
the  Territory;  is  a thriving  and  pleasant  place,  and  is  the  natural  shipping 
point  for  the  greater  part  of  the  Chehalis  and  Newaukum  valleys.  It  has 
a flouring  mill,  capacity  of  about  thirty  barrels  of  flour  per  day;  a sash 
and  door  factory;  a saw  mill  with  a capacity  of  about  40,000  feet  of  lumber 
per  day;  a pump  factory;  four  churches — Methodist,  Episcopal,  Baptist  and 


46 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Presbyterian — and  two  newspapers.  Chehalis  bids  fair,  in  the  near  future, 
to  be  a town  of  considerable  importance. 

Centralia  is  situated  on  the  line  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R.,  and  is  a town  of 
about  600  inhabitants,  and  is  the  natural  outlet  for  Iyincoln  creek,  Hana- 
ford  and  Skookum-chuck  valleys  and  part  of  the  Chehalis  valley.  It  has 
two  sawmills  with  a capacity  of  about  50,000  feet  of  lumber  per  day;  a 
shingle  mill  with  a capacity  of  about  50,000  feet  of  lumber  per  day;  an- 
other mill  with  a capacity  of  about  35,000  shingles  per  day;  flouring  mill 
(water  power);  has  three  churches — Methodist,  Baptist  and  Christian.  It 
is  situated  on  a gravelly  prairie,  is  a very  pleasant  place  to  live,  and  its 
prospects  to  become  a place  of  note  are  good. 

The  agricultural  products  of  the  county  are  reported  as  follows: 
Wheat,  150,000  bushels;  oats,  90,000;  potatoes,  50,000;  apples,  8000; 
plums,  25,000;  hay,  6000  tons.  Five  stock:  Horses,  4000;  neat  cattle, 
4000;  sheep,  3000;  swine,  3000.  Number  of  Fruit  trees,  10,000.  Man- 
ufactories: Five  flouring  mills,  11  saw  mills,  2 sash  and  door  factories; 
capital  invested,  $150,000;  assessed  valuation  of  property,  $1,007,239. 


Chehalis  County. 


(QHEH  ARIS  County  lies  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  Washington  Ter- 
^ ritory,  and  its  western  boundary  is  washed  by  the  Pacific  ocean.  The 
Chehalis  river  runs  through  the  county  from  east  to  west  and  flows  into 
Gray’s  Harbor.  The  valley  formed  by  this  river  is  from  three  to  five  miles 
in  width  and  is  very  fertile,  producing  from  thirty  to  fifty  bushels  of  wheat 
and  from  forty  to  seventy-five  bushels  of  oats  per  acre;  while  hay,  vegeta- 
bles and  small  fruits  grow  in  great  profusion. 

The  Satsop  and  Wynoochie  rivers,  flowing  into  the  Chehalis  from  the 
north,  are  valleys  somewhat  smaller  in  area  than  the  Chehalis  but  equal  in 
fertility  of  soil. 

gray’s  harbor 

is  twenty  miles  in  length  and  from  two  to  fourteen  miles  in  width.  The 
entrance  to  the  harbor  is  approached  over  a ‘ ‘bar’  ’ carrying  twenty-six  feet 
of  water  at  low  tide.  The  channel  being  straight  and  unchanging  enables 
vessels  to  enter  the  harbor  with  ease  and  safety.  The  Humptulips,  Ho- 
quiam  and  Wishkah  rivers  flow  into  the  harbor  from  the  north,  and  John’s 
and  Blk  rivers  from  the  south.  These  rivers  form  valleys  of  great  fer- 
tility. 

Chehalis  county  is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  best  timbered  counties 
on  the  northwest  coast,  its  table  lands  being  covered  with  Jhe  most  mag- 
nificent forests  of  fir,  spruce  and  cedar,  while  its  rivers  afford  ample 
water  to  transport  this  valuable  product  to  the  mills,  where  it  is  manufac- 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


47 


tured  into  lumber  and  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  world;  where,  owing  to 
its  superior  quality  it  finds  a ready  market.  The  cutting  of  this  timber, 
floating  it  to  the  mills  and  manufacturing  it  into  lumber  and  shipping  it 
away,  give  employment  to  hundreds  of  men  and  teams,  and  give  to  the 
farmers  a home  market  for  all  kinds  of  farm  products,  at  good  prices: 

The  present  population  of  the  county  is  about  4000,  and  is  rapidly 
increasing.  The  people  are  industrious,  enterprising  and  law-abiding, 
are  prosperous  and  contented;  and  being  here  to  stay  are  building  beauti- 
ful and  permanent  homes,  commodious  churches  and  school  houses. 

THE  TOWN  OF  EEMA 

with  a population  of  150  inhabitants,  located  near  the  Chehalis  river 
twenty  miles  above  its  mouth,  is  centrally  located  in  a fine  agricultural 
country.  Its  busines  men  are  enterprising  and  prosperous;  its  schools  and 
churches  a credit  to  any  community,  while  the  general  outlook  for  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  the  town  is  very  bright. 

MONTESANO, 

an  incorporated  city  of  1000  inhabitants,  is  situated  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Chehalis  river  and  the  east  bank  of  the  Wynoochie,  and  is  at  the  head 
of  deep  water  navigation  on  the  harbor.  It  is  the  county  seat  of  the  county. 
The  city  is  beautifully  located,  has  fin^  graded  streets,  good  business 
houses,  schools  and  churches.  Two  lines  of  daily  stages  connect  the  city 
with  Olympia,  the  capitol  of  the  Territory,  while  two  lines  of  steamboats 
make  daily  trips  to  all  points  on  the  lower  harbor  and  connect  with  a 
through  line  to  Astoria,  Oregon.  And  it  is  expected  in  the  near  future 
that  Montesano  will  be  the  terminus  of  a trans-continental  railroad.  It  is 
surrounded  by  fine  farming  lands  that  are  being  tilled  by  an  industrious 
and  intelligent  class  of  people. 

wynooche, 

located  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Chehalis  river  and  opposite  Montesano, 
has  one  hundred  inhabitants  and  a bright  future.  Its  inhabitants  are  loyal 
and  prosperous  and  deserve  the  prosperity  that  surely  awaits  them. 

COSMOPOEIS, 

situated  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  near  where  the  river  is  lost  in  the 
harbor,  is,  in  some  respects  at  least,  the  most  beautifully  located  town  in 
the  county.  It  has  250  inhabitants,  a magnificent  hotel,  a steam  sawmill 
with  a daily  capacity  of  about  75,000  feet,  while  a larger  one  is  soon  to  be 
built.  It  has  a fine  school  and  church,  an  intelligent  and  prosperous 
people,  and  bright  hopes  of  being  in  the  near  future  a rival  of  some  of  the 
now  larger  towns  for  commercial  supremacy. 

ABERDEEN. 

Two  and  one-half  miles  below  Cosmopolis  on  the  north  side  of  the 
bay,  and  where  the  waters  of  the  Wishkah  river  are  mingled  with  the 
waters  of  the  harbor,  is  the  town  of  Aberdeen  with  its  six  hundred  in- 


48 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


habitants.  At  this  place  are  lumber  mills  with  an  aggregate  daily  capac- 
ity of  150,000  feet.  The  citizens  are  energetic  and  enterprising,  and  have  a 
good  school  and  church,  besides  other  institutions  that  denote  culture  and 
refinement.  A weekly  newspaper,  the  Aberdeen  Herald , is  published 
here. 

HOQUIAM. 

Tour  miles  below  Aberdeen  on  the  same  side  of  the  bay,  at  a point 
where  the  gently  flowing  tide  of  the  Hoquiam  river  flows  into  and  becomes 
a part  of  the  waters  of  Gray’s  Harbor,  is  situated  the  town  of  Hoquiam. 
At  this  place  was  erected  the  first  steam  sawmill  in  the  county,  and  from 
this  place  was  exported  the  first  cargo  of  lumber.  The  mill  has  a daily 
output  of  100,000  feet.  Ship  building  is  quite  extensively  and  successfully 
carried  on  here.  Here,  too,  is  the  most  extensive  general  merchandise 
store  in  the  county,  if,  indeed,  it  is  not  the  most  extensive  in  the  Territory. 
Hoquiam  has  a population  of  300  people,  who  are  intelligent  and  law-abid- 
ing and  possessed  of  pluck  and  enterprise.  The  familiar  tones  of  the 
church  bell  call  its  people  to  a comfortable  and  beautiful  building.  The 
educational  interests  are  well  provided  for.  There  are  other 

TOWN  SITES 

in  the  county  where  the  surveyor  and  draughtsman  have  done  their  part, 
and  whose  projectors  are  not  without  reasonable  hopes  of  their  some  time 
assuming  metropolitan  style. 

The  climate  of  the  county  is  mild  and  salubrious — thermometer  never 
going  above  950  in  summer,  nor  below  zero  in  winter.  Blizzards,  cy- 
clones, drouths  or  disastrous  floods  are  unknown.  No  poisonous  vine, 
plant  or  reptile  find  a lodging  place  in  the  county;  while  the  gently  blow- 
ing breeze  from  the  Pacific  ocean  dispels  every  vestige  of  miasma.  Its 
rivers  and  bays  teem  with  fish,  and  its  wooded  hills  and  valleys  are  the 
home  of  wild  game.  The  already  developed  resources  of  the  county  are 
of  sufficient  magnitude  to  give  it  a commercial  standing  second  to  none  in 
the  Northwest,  while  its  latent  resources  are  of  untold  value.  The  fact 
that  we  are  300  miles  nearer  San  Francisco  (by  sea)  than  the  ports  of 
Puget  Sound,  the  ease  and  safety  with  which  ships  can  enter  our  commod- 
ious harbor,  together  with  our  accessibility  by  railroad  to  Eastern  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon  renders  it  not  at  all  improbable,  that  there  are  now  liv- 
ing in  our  midst  gray  haired  sires,  who  will  live  to  see  the  golden  grain  of 
the  Inland  Empire  seek  a market  in  the  ports  of  the  world  through  the 
entrance  to  Gray’s  Harbor. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


49 


Thurston  County. 


THURSTON  County  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Puget  Sound  and  that 
portion  of  it  known  as  Dana  Pass,  the  regularity  of  the  coast  line  being 
broken  by  Henderson,  Budd’s  Elb  and  Totten  Inlets;  its  western,  south- 
ern and  eastern  boundaries  are  respectively  Chehalis,  Eewis  and  Pierce 
counties.  It  is  of  irregular  shape,  contains  an  area  of  six  hundred  square 
miles,  or  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  thousand  acres;  has  a population 
of  about  four  thousand  five  hundred  souls,  and  occupies  nearly  a central 
position  in  Western  Washington. 

It  is  needless  to  enlarge  upon  the  climate  of  the  county  especially,  in 
this  place;  it  is  much  the  same  as  other  portions  of  Western  Washington. 
The  immigrant  entering  it  now  (the  month  of  April)  with  remembrances 
of  a foot  of  ice  on  their  lakes  and  rivers  in  the  east,  will  be  astonished  to 
see  the  forwardness  of  the  season  here.  The  surface  of  the  country  repre- 
sents generally  an  expanse  of  gently  rolling  hills,  near  the  Cascades  at- 
taining to  the  dignity  of  mountains,  intersected  by  streams  and  diversified 
with  prairie  lands  of  considerable  extent  and ' exhaustless  forests.  The 
water-courses  are  the  Des  Chutes,  the  Nisqually  (which  divides  the  two 
counties  of  Pierce  and  Thurston),  the  Skookum-chuck,  Scatter,  Black  and 
Chehalis  with  their  tributaries,  along  whose  banks  are  small  valleys,  flats 
and  stretches  of  bottom  land,  where  agriculture  may  be  profitably  carried 
on,  and  fruit  and  vegetables,  hay  and  wheat  raised  in  abundance.  In- 
deed, grain  grown  in  Thurston  county  took  the  premium  at  the  Centennial 
Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  in  1876. 

The  entire  area  of  the  county  in  its  natural  state  is  wooded,  with  fir 
on  the  uplands  and  cedar,  oak,  maple,  ash  and  alder  on  the  level  tracts 
and  with  this  vast  quantity  of  marketable  timber  at  hand,  with  the  super- 
ior advantages  of  wagon  rogds,  railroads  and  deep  water  in  close  proxim- 
ity, the  manufacture  of  lumber  of  which  there  is  cut  about  nine  million 
feet  annually,  becomes  a leading  industry  of  the  county.  Besides,  a large 
quantity  of  timber  is  cut  within  its  limits,  made  into  rafts  and  towed  by 
tug-boats  along  the  placid  waters  of  the  Sound  to  different  mills  on  its 
shores.  For  the  various  kinds  of  agriculture,  these  timber  lands  when 
cleared  and  brought  into  subjection,  are  equal,  if  not  better,  than  any  of 
the  open  tracts,  and  prove  of  great  value,  not  only  as  wheat  producing 
ground,  but  also  for  rearing  live  stock.  On  them  are  grown  vegetables 
fruit  and  grass  better  than  which  is  nowhere  to  be  found. 

Within  the  borders  of  Thurston  county  extensive  deposits  of  coal 
have  been  discovered  and  located,  and  all  await  development. 

During  the  year  1884-5  an  aggregate  of  50,000  bushels  of  grain  was 
grown  in  Thurston  county,  while  of  live  stock  there  were  15,000  head. 
The  assessment  roll  foots  up  $2,075,496. 


50  WA'SHING^TOR  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Snohomish  County. 


GEOGRAPHY  AND  TOPOGRAPHY. 

SNOHOMISH  County  has  about  40  miles  water  frontage  on  Pu^tSbuncj 
and  contains  about  2500  square  miles  or  1,600,000  acres.  It  situated 
between  King  county  on  the  south  and  Skagit  county  on  the  ho'rth;  the 
Cascade  mountains  forming  its  eastern  boundary.  One- third  of  its  area  is 
mountainous,  one-third  is  marvelously  rich  bottom  and  marsh  land,  and 
one-third  is  comparatively  level  upland,  the  soil  of  which  is  little  less  ie1^ 
tile  than  the  bottoms — in  fact,  this  class  of  lands  produce  a better  'quality 
of  fruit  and  vegetables  than  the  low-lands. 

The  mountains  are  rich  in  gold,  silver,  marble*  £oal,  irdh,  copper  and 
other  minerals,  but  as  yet  little  effort  has  been  made  'develop  these  re- 
sources.  The  railroad  company  last  summer  located  several  claims  on 
rich  silver  bearing  leads,  and  will  probably  commence  developing  them  this 
season.  Placer  mining  is  carried  on  to  some  extent;  in  nearly  every  stream 
placer  gold  has  been  found,  while  the  Sultan  river,  a stream  tributary  to 
the  Skykomish  branch  of  the  Snohomish  river,  and  situated  some  1 5 or  20 
miles  east  of  Snohomish,  has  yielded  more  gold  during  the  past  twenty 
years  than  has  been  found  on  all  other  Puget  Sound  streams  put  to- 
gether. Nearly  all  the  mountain  land  is  covered  with  valuable  timber,  the 
finest  fir  and  cedar  the  sun  shines  on.  Over  one-half  of  it  is  fertile  and 
should  the  timber  be  removed,  valuable  for  hay  or  pasture.  The  agri- 
cultural value  of  the  upland  will  average  about  one-half  that  of  the  low 
land.  Considering  both  soil  and  climate,  one  acre  of  marsh  or  bottom 
land  here  has  a productive  value  equal  to  three  acres  of  Iowa  or  Illinois 
prairie.  Most  of  the  upland  is  covered  with  the  same  kind  of  timber, 
which  costs  too  much  to  pay  for  clearing  it  expressly  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses. But  forest  fires  annually  burn  over  many  thousand  acres  of  such 
land,  and  there  are  also  many  thousand  acres  of  old  logging  works,  partly 
cleared,  making  excellent  pasture,  which  now  will  pay  to  finish  clearing 
for  farming  purposes.  In  the  county,  of  these  old  burns  and  old  logging 
works  there  are  not  less  than  200,000  acres,  partly  cleared  that  will  pay  to 
improve  for  farming  purposes.  Of  these  fully  30,000  acres  now  furnish 
excellent  pasturage  nine  months  out  of  each  year.  With  the  increase  of 
logging,  and  the  extension  of  settlements,  the  amount  will  be  doubled 
during  the  next  five  years,  at  the  present  rate  of  increase. 

There  are  about  460,000  acres  of  surveyed  land  in  the  county,  of 
which  at  least  200,000  acres  have  been  taken  under  the  homestead,  pre- 
emption and  timber  land  law.  About  10,000  acres  are  under  cultivation. 
The  total  number  of  acres  of  land  assessed  in  Snohomish  county  in  1887, 
172,287,  valued  at  $71 1,942;  the  total  valuation  of  all  taxable  property 
was  $1,052,322 — an  increase  since  1885  of  $372,576. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


51 


The  most  choice  tracts  of  vacant  agricultural  land  are  to  be  found  on 
the  smaller  streams,  and  around  the  numerous  small  lakes.  Several  ex- 
perienced men  are  engaged  in  locating  settlers.  The  tide  marsh  land  at 
the  delta  of  the  Snohomish  and  Stillaguamish  is  all  taken.  This  class  of 
land  is  the  richest  and  most  productive  in  the  world.  Most  of  the  large 
river  bottoms  and  large  marshes  are  taken,  also  the  few  small  prairies,  but 
equally  as  good  land  from  one  to  five  miles  inland,  within  the  same  dis- 
tance of  roads,  is  still  awaiting  settlers. 

Brush  land  can  be  cleared  for  from  $10  to  $20  per  acre,  and  timber 
lands  from  $20  to  $50,  and  in  many  places  the  timber  will  a great  deal 
more  than  pay  for  the  clearing.  Many  of  the  farmers  of  this  county  went 
into  the  woods  and  with  little  or  no  aid  or  money  to  commence  with,  built 
comfortable  houses  from  the  trees  on  the  ground,  cleared  up  a garden  spot 
and  raised  enough  produce  to  give  a comfortable  living  the  first  year.  Im- 
proved farming  lands  can  be  purchased  for  $20  to  $75;  unimproved,  $2.50 
to  $20,  according  to  character,  location  and  distance  from  market. 

TIMBER  BANDS. 

The  most  choice  surveyed  timber  lands  are  taken,  but  occasionally  a 
40,  80  <*r  120  acre  tract  can  be  found  joining  that  owned  by  the  mill  or  log- 
ging companies.  There  is  almost  fabulous  wealth  in  the  vast  tracts  of  un- 
surveyed timber  land  which  will  in  time  be  thrown  open  to  settlement. 
Timber  claims  of  160  acres,  upon  which  there  are  from  four  to  six  million 
feet  of  fir  and  cedar,  within  one  or  two  miles  of  a railroad  or  a stream 
large  enough  to  “drive”,  sell  at  $1000  to  $ 2000 . The  purchase  or  location 
of  a timber  claim  under  the  timber  or  pre-emption  law,  is  one  of  the  most 
profitable  investments  that  can  be  made  in  this  country.  The  southern 
part  of  the  county  and  the  northeastern  part  of  King  county  is  drained  by 
the  Snohomish  river  and  its  tributaries;  while  the  Stillaguamish  and  its 
tributaries  drain  the  northern  part.  (These  Indian  names  are  about  the 
only  drawback  the  county  has,  but  they  compare  favorably  with  those  of 
Maine.)  The  Snohomish  and  its  main  tributary  (the  Snoqualmie)  are  nav- 
igable for  steamers  a distance  of  about  45  miles;  the  Stillaquamish  for 
about  10  miles.  These  streams,  on  which  are  the  older  and  larger  settle- 
ments, are  at  present  the  main  outlets  for  the  products  of  the  county. 

The  Bellingham  Bay  and  British  Columbia  railroad  will  pass  through 
a portion  of  the  county  that  is  but  thinly  settled,  and  will  make  acces- 
sable  large  tracts  of  timber  land,  mostly  owned  by  the  loggers  and  big  mill 
companies;  also  a large  area  of  vacant  agricultural  land.  The  great  draw- 
back heretofore  in  developing  the  latent  resources  of  the  county  has  been 
the  want  of  inter-communication;  but  this  is  being  remedied  by  the  open- 
ing of  new  roads,  the  improvement  of  old  ones;  and  the  building  of  the 
railroad. 

THE  BEADING  INDBtSTRY 

of  the  county  at  present,  is  lumbering.  In  1887,  the  most  prosperous  sea- 


52 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


son  ever  known  in  the  lumbering  districts  of  Puget  Sound,  there  were  45 
logging  camps  in  operation  in  Snohomish  county,  their  output  aggregat- 
ing 110,000,000  feet — the  largest  output  of  any  county  in  Oregon  or 
Washington.  Last  season  prices  of  logs  ranged  from  $5  to  $7*5oper  1000. 
During  the  hard  times  of  ’78  prices  went  as  low  as  $3.50.  With  a rapidly 
increasing  foreign  and  local  demand  for  lumber,  the  building  of  new  mills, 
the  purchase  of  large  tracts  of  timber  land  and  the  building  of  railroads 
by  eastern  capitalists,  together  with  the  introduction  of  new  and  improved 
methods  of  logging,  the  opening  of  many  new  camps  on  an  extensive 
scale;  and  last  but  not  least,  the  perfection  of  an  organization  by  the  log- 
gers, the  prospects  are  unusually  favorable  “good  times”  this  season. 

The  marketable  timber  of  the  county  in  quality  and  quantity,  has  no 
rivals,  and  consists  of  fir,  many  of  the  trees  attaining  a height  of  300 
feet  and  a diameter  of  six  to  ten  feet  on  the  stump;  cedar  trees  often  attain 
the  same  height,  but  have  larger  bodies — the  diameter  frequently  exceed- 
ing fifteen  feet.  A stump  of  this  size  can  be  seen  on  the  river  bank  a few 
rods  below  the  mill,  on  which  a party  of  five  horsemen  and  seven  men  on 
foot  ‘ ‘posed’  ’ for  a photograph  last  summer.  Maple,  alder  and  cottonwood 
reach  large  sizes  and  are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  furniture  and  boxes. 

STOCK  RAISING  AND  DAIRYING 

are  two  industries  that  are  profitably  engaged  in  here,  and  for  which  the 
county  is  naturally  adapted.  There  is  hardly  a quarter  section  of  land 
upon  which  cannot  be  found  a spring  or  small  stream  of  pure  water.  All 
kinds  of  grasses  grow  spontaneously  and  to  the  greatest  perfection — espec- 
ially clover  and  timothy,  which  grow  green  twelve  months  in  the  year. 
Two  crops  of  clover  and  timothy  mixed,  or  clover  alone,  are  cut;  those  on 
the  marshes,  bottoms  and  rich  uplands  averaging  about  3^2  tons  to  the 
first  crop  and  2^  tons  the  second.  Farmers  who  keep  stock  generally, 
pasture  after  the  first  crop  is  cut.  During  the  past  four  months,  those  who 
had  hay  to  spare  found  ready  sale  at  $22  to  $27  a ton,  to  loggers.  The 
price  of  hay  usually  averages  about  $12  a ton.  Stock  frequently  run  at 
large  all  winter,  and  come  out  in  the  spring  looking  as  well  as  those  which 
were  kept  up  and  fed.  During  the  past  )^ear,  our  farmers  have  been  un- 
able to  supply  even  the  local  demand,  and  the  butchers  were  compelled  to 
to  purchase  several  bands  of  cattle  and  sheep  from  Oregon  and  Eastern 
Washington.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  The  Eye' s market  report,  the  price 
paid  for  mutton  on  foot  is  4^ , beef  4 and  pork  4 cents  per  pound.  Butter 
and  cheese  are  always  in  good  demand  at  fair  prices.  Farmers  are  paying 
increased  attention  to  the  improvement  of  their  stock  by  importing  pure 
bred  animals  for  breeding  purposes.  Work  horses  sell  for  $300  to  $500  a 
span;  oxen  $200  to  $400  a yoke,  the  latter  price  having  been  paid  here  last 
winter  by  a logger  for  a yoke  of  cattle  girthing  eight  feet  each;  ponies,  $40 
to  $100;  common  cows,  $40  to  $60. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


53 


PRODUCTS  AND  PRICES. 

Fruit  raising  is  another  profitable  branch  of  industry  which  our  pro- 
gressive farmers  are  engaging  in  more  extensively  than  formerly,  and  the 
location  of  a cannery  and  dryer  at  some  convenient  point — Snohomish, 
for  instance — by  some  one  with  capital,  or  by  the  fruit  growers  themselves, 
would  be  a profitable  and  successful  enterprise.  Among  the  numerous 
fruits  most  successfully  raised  here  are  apples,  pears,  plums,  prunes  and 
cherries  in  many  varieties;  strawberries,  blackberries,  raspberries,  currents, 
etc. , which  in  size,  quality  and  quantity  to  the  acre,  bushel  or  tree  can  not 
be  equalled*  by  [any*  (country]  in  the  world;  and  with  a little  extra  care, 
peaches  and| grapes  of  the  largest  size  and  finest  quality  are  raised.  Black- 
berries, raspberries,  currents  and  gooseberries  will  do  as  well  as  strawber- 
ries, if  not  better,  upon  our  wild  land.  The  usual  prices  the  grower  gets 
for  plums,  prunes  and  cherries  range  from  6 cents  a pound  when  they  first 
appear  in  .the  market  down  to  2^  cents  later  in  the  season;  peaches,  10  to 

5 cents;  strawberries,  20  to  10  cents;  raspberries,  blackberries  and  currents, 

6 to  3 cents;  apples  and  pears,  5 to  i}4  cents  a pound  or  $2  to  50  cents  a 
bushel — the  former  price  being  paid  for  the  earliest  and  latest  in  the 
market.  These  figures  are  obtained  from  dealers,  and  are  reliable. 

The  productive  capacity  of  the  land  is  unequalled,  the  ordinary  yield 
of  wheat  being  60  bushels,  oats  100,  and  barley  80  bushels  to  the  acre.  One 
field  of  10  acres  on  the  tide  flats  yielded  134^  bushels  of  oats  to  the  acre, 
last  season.  Corn  is  successfully  raised  but  not  in  large  quantities.  Five 
hundred  bushels  of  potatoes,  of  the  finest  quality  to  the  acre,  is  not  an 
uncommon  yield,  while  all  root  crops  and  garden  truck  show  a proportion- 
ate yield.  Turnips  ranging  in  weight  from  20  to  35  pounds,  and  yielding 
8 to  10  tons  per  acre,  is  no  uncommon  thing.  Cabbages  are  often  seen  in 
our  markets  that  will  weigh  from  30  to  40  pounds  per  head.  Wheat  has 
not  as  yet  been  cultivated  on  a large  scale.  Pumpkins  and  squash  flour- 
ish; many  of  them  often  obtain  the  huge  weight  of  150  pounds.  The 
sugar  beet  has  been  cultivated  successfully  in  many  parts  of  the  county, 
and  the  establishment  of  a sugar  factory  in  the  near  future  at  some  central 
point  is  probable.  The  cultivation  of  hops  is  engaged  in  by  several  farm- 
ers, though  not  on  an  extensive  scale  as  yet;  2000  pounds  to  the  acre  is  a 
good  average  yield.  Hop  lice  and  other  crop  destroying  insects  are  un- 
known here. 

Experience  has  proven  that  with  proper  care  bees  are  about  as  profit- 
able “live  stock”  as  can  be  kept  on  Puget  Sound.  The  honey-producing 
plants  and  trees  bloom  early,  and  the  bees  often  commence  their  season’s 
work  by  the  middle  of  February.  The  wholesale  price  of  honey  varies 
but  little  from  20  cents  a pound  in  the  comb. 

With  land  of  almost  marvelous  fertility,  one  acre  of  which  will  pro- 
duce as  much  as  four  or  five  acres  of  the  best  land  in  the  eastern  and  north- 


54 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


ern  states;  with  no  cyclones,  blizzards,  grasshoppers,  drouths  or  disastrous 
floods  to  endanger  or  destroy  life  and  property;  and  with  a good  demand 
and  generally  good  prices  for  everything  they  raise,  our  farmers  are  pros- 
perous and  happy — and  can  our  eastern  readers  wonder  at  it? 


OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  BUSINESS. 


The  only  manufactories  in  the  county  are:  One  fully  equipped  steam 
sawmill  with  a daily  capacity  of  about  30,000  feet  of  lumber,  and  employ- 
ing from  20  to  30  men — a feed  mill  is  also  attached;  one  water  power  sash, 
door  and  furniture  factory,  employing  five  men  (these  are  located  in  Sno- 
homish); one  shingle  mill  at  Edmonds,  daily  capacity  30,000.  Another 
shingle  mill  is  being  built  near  Stanwood.  Other  mills  will  be  opened 
along  the  railroad.  There  are  fine  opportunities  here  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a brick  kiln,  a tannery,  a wooden  ware  factory,  a fruit  cannery 
and  dryer,  starch  and  beet  sugar  factories.  Raw  material  is  cheap  and 
abundant;  home  markets  are  good  and  transportation  cheap  aq,d  conven- 
ient. There  are  several  good  water  powers  in  the  county  that  can  be  pur- 
chased cheap. 


Skagit  County, 


KAGIT  County  has  some  40,000  acres  under  cultivation,  two  thirds  of 


which — comprising  the  Swinomish,  Skagit  Delta  and  Samish  Flats — is 
more  or  less  tributary  to  EaConner,  the  principal  commercial  center  of  the 
county.  The  product  is  principally  oats,  probably  over  20,000  tons  per 
annum.  This  together  with  the  logging  output,  some  55,000,000  or  60,- 
000,000  feet,  bring  the  people  abundant  ready  cash — over  a half  million 
dollars  annually.  The  farmers  are  generally  prosperous  and  are  branch- 
ing out  in  diversified  farming,  increasing  their  stock  for  dairying.  There 
is  abundant  iron,  coal,  granite  and  limestone  throughout  the  county,  chief- 
ly up  the  Skagit,  but  capital  has  not  yet  taken  hold  of  the  development  of 
these  resources.  The  Skagit,  coursing  through  the  county,  is  the  largest 
river  emptying  into  Puget  Sound,  and  is  navigable  for  a distance  of  80 
miles.  The  county,  is  24  by  100  miles  in  extent — from  the  Rosario  Straits 
to  the  Cascade  range,  and  being  immediately  in  front  of  the  Straits  of 
Fuca  is  admirably  situated  for  commerce.  It  has  a number  of  productive 
islands  on  the  western  border,  and  taken  altogether  it  may  be  said  that 
Skagit  county  is  one  of  the  richest  in  agriculture,  timber  and  elementary 
resources  of  any  in  the  territory.  Population  about  5,000.  This  rich  and 
rapidly  developing  county  is  immediately  tributary  to  Tacoma,  by  a local 
corporation,  which  has  been  recently  organized  by  Tacoma  capitalists 
engaged  in  logging  and  merchandising  on  the  Skagit  river.  There  has 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


55 


been  built  at  the  Ship  yard  in  Tacoma  a steamer  to  run  directly  from  Tacoma 
up  the  Skagit  river,  thus  making  the  trade  of  this  county  directly  tribu- 
tary to  Tacoma.  This  new  steamer  is  one  of  the  staunchest  and  fastest 
.on  the  Sound. 


Whatcom  County. 


\ \ f HATCOM  County,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  territory,  at  the  north- 
ern end  of  Puget  Sound,  extends  southward  from  the  British  line  about 
25  miles,  and  eastward  from  Puget  Sound  about  80  miles,  and  therefore  con- 
tains in  the  neighborhood  of  2000  square  miles.  The  eastern  portion  is 
mountainous,  exceedingly  picturesque,  and  heavily  timbered  with  white 
pine,  fir,  cedar  and  spruce.  In  the  western  portion  magnificent  belts  of 
fir  and  cedar  alternate  with  extensive  river  bottoms  of  vine,  maple  and 
alder.  Numerous  lakes  of  Swiss  picturesqueness,  dot  the  county,  chief 
among  which  is  Take  Whatcom,  12  miles  long  by  1 to  1%  miles  wide,  with  a 
depth  in  places  of  400  feet,  situated  some  three  miles  from  Bellingham  Bay, 
and  having  a surface  elevation  of  about  300  feet  above  the  bay  level.  The 
surplus  waters  of  the  lake  flows  through  Whatcom  creek  to  the  city  of 
Whatcom,  located  at  its  mouth,  on  Bellingham  Bay,  and  furnish  a majes- 
tic water  power,  capable  of  moving  the  enginery  of  scores  of  factories.  A 
company  is  about  to  pipe  the  waters  of  the  lake  to  Whatcom  and  other 
towns  along  the  shores  ot  Bellingham  Bay,  having  demonstrated  the  fact 
that  with  a fall  of  300  feet  a store  of  water  is  available  of  sufficient  magni- 
tude to  supply  the  domestic  and  mechanical  requirements  of  a city  as  large 
as  Tondon.  The  lumber  resources  of  the  county  are  immense  and  com- 
paratively untouched.  The  fir  and  cedar  attain  enormous  dimensions. 
Three  saw  mills  are  now  located  upon  Bellingham  Bay,  one  at  the  town  of 
Bellingham,  having  a capacity  of  75,000  feet  per  day,  and  a Michigan 
company  will  soon  commence  the  construction  of  another  and  larger  one 
at  New  Whatcom,  and  will  also  construct  a railroad  to  Take  Whatcom, 
the  timber  round  which,  at  a low  estimate,  amounts  to  300,000,000  feet. 
The  large  acreage  of  river  bottoms  affords  an  excessively  fertile  region  for 
agriculture.  The  alder  and  vine  maple  with  which  they  are  covered  is 
easily  cleared.  All  kinds  of  grass  grow  luxuriantly,  and  the  alder  bottom 
of  one  season  becomes  the  pasture  land  and  garden  of  the  next.  Roots 
and  vegetables  of  every  description  attain  a phenomenal  size,  and  are  un- 
surpassed in  flavor  and  keeping  qualities.  Pre-eminently  is  Whatcom 
county  the  land  of  fruits  and  berries,  the  favorable  conditions  of  climate 
and  soil  apparently  charging  the  products  of  horticulture  and  the  orchard 
with  all  the  elements  of  perfect  development.  In  the  interior  of  the  county 
along  the  numerous  valleys  of  the  Nooksack  river  and  its  tributaries,  corn, 


56 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


peaches,  and  other  products  requiring  warmer  nights  and  a temperature  of 
greater  average  height  than  that  of  the  coast,  mature  readily  and  yield 
prolifieally.  Tobacco  of  a superior  quality  is  successfully  grown.  Stock 
thrives  upon  the  plentiful  grass  and  clovers  indigenous  to  soil.  Poultry 
is  remarkably  free  from  diseases  usually  preying  upon  domestic  fowls. 
Fish  and  game  are  abundant.  Fine  large  salmon  have  sold  on  Belling- 
ham Bay  during  the  last  season  for  from  three  to  ten  cents  each.  The 
streams  and  lakes  swarm  with  trout.  Along  the  shores  of  the  bay  salmon 
trout  of  delicious  flavor  are  plentiful.  Cod  in  numerous  varieties,  flounders, 
and  other  salt  water  fish  are  not  only  abundant,  but  very  cheap.  Oysters 
are  plentiful ; while  clams,  crabs  and  mussels  can  be  had  by  the  cart  load. 
Dogfish  are  exceedingly  abundant,  and  are  caught  in  great  numbers  for 
their  oil.  At  Point  Roberts,  at  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county,  is 
probably  the  best  'salmon  fishing  station  in  the  entire  northwest.  Deer 
are  killed  in  great  numbers  which  makes  the  business  a butchery.  Grouse 
and  pheasant  abound  in  the  woods.  Geese  and  ducks  in  astonishing  num- 
bers cover  the  waters  of  Bellingham  Bay  during  the  winter  season.  Elk 
are  found  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county,  while  the  bear  and  cougar 
lurk  in  the  deeper  recesses  of  the  forest. 

The  mineral  deposits  of  the  county  consist  chiefly  of  iron  and  coal,  the 
former  as  yet  undeveloped.  Vast  deposits  of  bog-iron  ore  exist  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  county.  Extensive  coal  beds  have  been  found  in 
various  localities  in  the  vicinity  of  Take  Whatcom,  and  have  been  developed 
enough  to  prove  the  existence  of  practically  inexhaustible  veins  of  an  ex- 
cellent quality  of  bituminous  coal.  Gold  has  been  discovered  along  the 
Upper  Nooksack  and  its  tributaries,  but  the  early  fall  rains  have  interrupted 
the  work  of  the  miners  before  the  extent  of  the  deposits  could  be  ascer- 
tained. The  Chuckanut  Bay  sandstone  of  this  county  is  justly  celebrated 
as  an  elegant  and  durable  building  material.  The  incorporated  city  of 
Whatcom  is  the  county  seat,  situated  on  Bellingham  Bay  a magnificent 
landlocked  body  of  water  six  miles  in  length  by  three  in  width,  furnishing 
an  absolutely  safe  anchorage  and  harborage  for  the  largest  vessels.  The. 
Bellingham  Bay  and  British  Columbia  Railroad,  about  two  miles  of  which 
is  completed  from  New  Whatcom,  will  eventually  connect  that  point  and 
the  lines  of  traffic  centering  at  the  bay  with  the  Canadian  Pacific.  Settle- 
ment has  steadily  progressed  during  the  past  few  years,  and  the  county  is 
becoming  populous  with  a strong,  vigorous  and  energetic  class  of  men. 
The  climate  of  Whatcom  county,  and  especially  at  Bellingham  Bay,  is 
admirable.  The  rainfall  is  not  excessive ; there  are  no  moss-covered  roofs. 
An  agreeable  temperature  prevails.  Puget  Sound,  upon  its  western  shore 
has  a wonderfully  equalizing  influence  upon  the  climate.  The  waters  of 
this  vast  Mediterranean  of  the  north  are  ever  ebbing  and  flowing  to  and 
from  the  sea.  Colder  than  the  surrounding  atmosphere  under  the  vertical 
rays  of  the  sun,  they  absorb  its  heat  and  moderate  the  warmth  of  midsum- 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


57 


mer,  while  the  genial  Japan  current,  which  finds  its  way  through  the 
Straits  of  Fuca  and  to  the  shores  of  Bellingham  Bay,  constantly  parting 
with  its  surplus  caloric  during  the  colder  months,  tempers  the  rigors  of 
midwinter.  These  and  other  exceptional  circumstances,  undoubtedly 
make  the  western  part  of  Whatcom  county  one  of  the  favored  localities 
of  the  globe. 


Yakima  County. 


THE  country  more  immediately  tributary  to  the  city  of  North  Yakima, 
consisting  of  valleys  of  the  Moxee,  Konnewock,  Ahtanum,  Natchez  >■ 
Coweetchie,  Wenas,  and  Selah,  and  the  magnificent  Yakima  Indian  Re- 
servation, forms  a body  of  land,  which  for  agricultural  possibilities  cannot 
be  excelled  in  America. 

The  growing  season  is  long,  warm  and  steady.  Irrigation  is  necessary 
and  the  supply  of  water  is  abundant.  The  soil  is  very  rich  indeed,  and 
fertilizers  are  not  required,  nor  will  they  be  for  a generation.  The  rich 
riyer  water  conducted  on  the  land  by  irrigating  ditches,  deposits  all  its 
wealth  on  the  soil  and  is  a never-ending  source  of  renewed  life.  Fed 
from  the  melting  snows  of  the  mountains,  the  rivers  and  streams  are 
highest  just  when  their  water  is  of  most  value  to  the  farmer,  and  they  are 
as  reliable  as  the  laws  of  nature  and  the  fiat  of  Divinity. 

Capital  is  rapidly  flowing  into  the  country,  and  splendid  ditches  and 
irrigating  systems  are  being  constructed  every  year.  The  irrigation  works 
of  the  Moxee  Company,  four  miles  from  Yakima,  are  perhaps  the  most 
nearly  perfect  north  of  California. 

A company  has  been  formed  of  Tacoma  and  Eastern  capitalists  for  the 
construction  of  an  irrigating  canal,  seventy-five  miles  long.  This  canal 
has  its  head  at  the  gap  in  the  Rattlesnake  hills  south  of  Yakima,  and  will 
water  several  hundred  thousand  acres  of  most  desirable  farming  lands. 

The  water  power  of  the  Natchez  river,  from  the  painted  rocks  to  the 
City  of  Yakima,  about  four  miles,  is  leaping  down  its  forty-feet-to-the- 
mile  grade,  rejoicing  in  its  strength  and  calling  in  tones  too  clear  to  remain 
longer  unheard,  for  the  factories,  which  will  enable  it  to  bend  its  eternally 
youthful  energies  to  the  service  of  man. 

The  coal  and  iron  deposits  of  the  Natchez  Valley  are  immense  in  ex- 
tent and  of  the  richest  quality. 

The  town  of  Yakima  itself,  is,  as  inevitably  as  its  topography  is  fixed, 
one  of  the  leading  railroad  centres,  if  not  the  leading  railroad  centre  of 
the  Northwest.  The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  already  runs  through  its 
well-ditched  and  tree-fringed  streets.  All  the  best  mountain  passes  open 


58 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


westward  from  its  surrounding  valleys,  and  eastward  to  the  great  wheat 
belt  of  the  Columbia.  The  Yakima  and  Salmon  River  Mines  stage  goes 
over  a road,  the  steepest  grade  of  which  is  twenty-five  feet  to  the  mile,  and 
over  which  a Central  Park  turnout  could  be  driven  without  disturbing  the 
profound  repose  of  its  fair  occupants.  It  is,  however,  as  an  agricultural 
^country,  that  Yakima  County  has  attracted  most  attention  so  far.  It  is 
no  exaggeration  to  say  that  almost  everything  is  grown  in  this  peculiarly 
favored  spot,  from  corn  and  potatoes  to  grapes,  peaches,  peanuts,  tobacco, 
hops,  and  even  cotton.  Over  fifty  bushels  of  wheat  and  ninety  bushels  of 
*oats  have  been  raised  to  the  acre,  but  the  leading  grain  is  perhaps  barley, 
to  the  growth  of  which  the  conditions  of  soil  and  climate  seem  peculiarly 
adapted.  Hops  have  made  every  farmer  who  has  staid  with  them  well-to- 
do.  Hitherto  the  hop  hills  in  this  district  have  been  set  eight  feet  apart, 
and  the  yield  per  acre  has  been  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  hundred  pounds. 
With  the  six  and  a half  feet  measurement  lately  introduced,  the  yield  per 
acre  should  not  fall  short  of  two  thousand  to  twenty-four  hundred  pounds 
per  acre.  It  costs  eight  cents  a pound  to  raise  hops  and  bale  them  ready 
for  market,  and  the  average  price  obtained  for  the  past  ten  years  has  been 
eighteen  cents  a pound.  Take  even  last  year’s  price  (thirteen  cents)  and 
a profit  of  five  cents  a pound  is  left,  which  at  the  low  yield  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred pounds  an  acre,  gives  a profit  of  seventy-five  dollars  per  acre.  The 
hops  of  the  Yakima  Valley  have  taken  the  very  first  place  in  the  market. 
The  reason  of  this  is,  that,  owing  to  irrigation,  the  exact  amount  of  water 
required  by  the  vines  can  be  given  to  them  just  when  it  will  do  most  good. 

Tobacco  nets  on  an  even  more  conservative  calculation,  fifty  dollars  to 
the  acre. 

Timothy  hay  which  grows  on  the  bottom  lands  without  irrigation,  sell 
on  the  Sound  city  markets  for  from  twenty  to  thirty  dollars  per  ton.  It 
still  costs  $3.00  a ton  to  bale,  and  $4.50  to  ship  hay  to  the  Sound,  or  $7.50 
(exclusive  of  hauling)  from  stack  to  market. 

All  kinds  of  feed  roots  grow  to  enormous  sizes. 

Alfalfa  or  Tucern  clover,  the  king  of  forage  plants,  is  slowly  covering 
the  fields  of  Yakima  County  with  his  royally  magnificent  mantle  of  promise. 
Three  crops  can  be  cut  in  the  year,  but  the  third  crop  is  seldom  cut,  the 
farmers  generally  leaving  it  for  pasture.  From  two  crops  five  tons  to  the 
acre  are  easily  obtainable.  Alfalfa,  unbaled,  sold  last  year  in  Yakima  for 
$8  to  $10  a ton,  and  the  demand  exhausted  the  supply  before  the  season 
was  half  over. 

Amid  its  many  resources,  Yakima  County  has  perhaps  none  more  valu- 
able than  alfalfa.  With  a little  corn  or  barley  to  make  the  flesh  firm, 
although  this  is  not  necessary,  it  is  the  prime  feed  for  hogs  and  cattle,  and 
will  yield  a steady  return  per  acre  which  any  farmer  can  calculate  for 
himself.  • 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


59 


These  are  not  exaggerated  statements,  but,  a few  plain  facts  in  the  ex- 
perience of  thousands,  -and  more  particularly  of  one  who  heard  a voice  in 
the  East  from  the  West  singing  the  sypen  SOn g of  unsurpassed  fertility. 
He  feared  that  distance  had  mellow  and  lent  enchantment  to  the  song, 
but  he  came,  and  bears  his  testimony  that  the  half\ia.s  not  been  told. 


Kittitas  County. 


IZ ITTITAS  County  by  reason  of  its  multiplicity  of  resources  and  indus- 
V tries,  is  known  as  the  ‘ ‘Banner  County  of  Washington  Territory.  It  lies 
in  the  geographical  center  of  the  Territory,  contains  3600  square  miles  and 
between  8000  and  10,000  inhabitants.  It  is  bounded  011  the  west  by  the 
summit  line  of  the  Cascade  range  of  mountains,  and  by  the  Columbia 
river  on  the  east.  Its  area  is  nearly  equally  divided  into  three  distinct 
parts,  viz. : The  western  portion  is  occupied  by  heavy  forests  of  pine,  fir, 
-and  cedar. 

The  central  portion,  or  Kittitas  Valley,  is  devoted  to  agriculture,  and 
the  eastern  portion  bordering  on  the  Columbia  river  is  grazing  lands  and 
stock  range.  The  western  portion  of  the  county  is  underlaid  with  im- 
mense beds  of  No.  1 bituminous  coal  and  deposits  of  sematite  and  mag- 
netic iron  ore.  Also  gold,  silver,  copper  and  other  metals  are  found  in  the 
Cascade  range. 

The  Kittitas  Valley  lies  in  the  center  of  the  county  and  is  15  by  30 
miles  in  area.  It  is  prairie  land  surrounded  by  the  foot-hills  of  the  Cas- 
cade range,  two  sides  of  which  are  covered  with  timber.  Through  the 
^center  of  the  valley  the  Yakima  river  runs,  whilst  scores  of  smaller 
streams  course  their  way  down  through  the  valley  from  the  adjacent  foot- 
hills. These  streams  are  fed  by  the  snows  and  are  as  pure  as  crystal  and 
furnishes  water  for  irrigation  to  all  parts  of  the  valley.  Kittitas  Valley  is 
the  best  watered  valley  on  the  Pacific  coast  east  of  the  Cascade  range. 
About  one-fourth  of  the  valley  is  under  cultivation. 

The  principal  productions  of  the  valley  are  wheat,  oats,  barley,  hay, 
vegetables  of  all  kinds,  horses,  sheep,  cattle  and  hogs.  From  30  to  50 
bushels  of  wheat  are  produced  per  acre;  40  to  80  bushels  of  barley;  from 
40  to  60  of  oats  and  300  to  500  bushels  of  potatoes. 

The  Cascade  division  of  the  N.  P.  R.  R.,  enters  the  southeast  portion 
of  the  county  and  traverses  its  entire  length  in  a northwesterly  direction. 
Our  market  is  Tacoma  on  the  west,  and  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  and  Chicago 
on  the  east. 

The  leading  industries  of  the  county  are  agriculture,  stockraising, 
coal,  lumber,  and  iron,  gold  and  silver  mining.  The  county  produced  in 


6o 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


the  year  1887,  one  million  bushels  of  grain  and  one  hundred  thousand 
tons  of  hay,  with  not  one- tenth  part  under  cultivation. 

Kittitas  Valley  is  the  home  of  the  agriculturalist,  the  stockman,  the 
manufacturer,  the  lumberman,  the  miner,  the  coal  baron  and  the  iron  king. 

The  products  and  resources  are  so  happily  located  and  so  diversified,, 
that  most  anyone  coming  west  can  drift  into  his  favorite  occupation. 

CDIMATE. 

The  climate  of  Kittitas  County  is  semi-oceanic.  Fllensburgh,  the 
metropolis  of  the  Inland  Empire,  is  situated  only  125  miles  from  salt  water, 
hence  the  county  naturally  shares  the  mild  temperature  of  the  ocean.  The 
mean  temperature  being  730  in  summer  and  340  in  winter.  The  average 
winter  does  not  last  over  six  weeks  to  two  months  and  is  dry  with  a mod- 
erate depth  of  snow;  sleighing  often  lasting  three  or  four  weeks.  Winter 
generally  begins  from  the  1st  to  the  15th  of  December  and  breaks 
from  the  1st  to  the  15th  of  February.  Farmers  frequently  plow  here 
in  December  and  often  in  January.  After  the  15th  of  February,  stock- 
men can  safely  turn  their  herds  on  the  range,  as  from  that  time  on, 
the  warm  winds  from  the  ocean  cut  the  snows  so  that  stock  improves  rap- 
idly. Many  stockmen  take  the  chances  of  allowing  their  stock  to  run  on 
the  range  the  entire  year. 

No  cyclone  or  blizzard  has  ever  visited  the  county,  and  since  its  first 
settlement,  such  things  have  not  been  known.  The  conditions  and  topog- 
raphy of  the  county  are  such,  owing  to  the  temperizing  influence  of  the 
ocean  and  a vast  mountain  range,  to  render  such  a phenomena  as  blizzards, 
cyclones  or  tornadoes  utterly  impossible.  Owing  to  the  ocean  and  this 
range  of  mountains,  we  never  have  protracted  “heated  terms,”  as  the 
nights  are  always  cool;  so  much  so,  that  a pair  of  blankets  are  quite  com- 
fortable in  July  or  August. 

FRUIT. 

All  of  the  hardy  varieties  of  fruit  do  well  here  and  are  of  excellent 
flavor  and  quality.  A number  of  orchards  are  in  full  bearing.  While 
small  fruits,  such  as  currents,  gooseberries  and  strawberries  are  in  their 
natural  climate.  In  the  northeastern  portion  of  the  county,  in  the 
Wenatchee  Valley,  excellent  peaches,  No.  1 com  and  sweet  potatoes  grow 
to  perfection  and  in  abundance.  More  attention  is  given  each  succeeding 
year  to  the  planting  of  trees. 

Another  fact  should  be  mentioned,  that  here  we  have  no  pests  such 
as  the  chintz  or  potato  bug,  the  grasshopper,  the  Russian  fly  the  cenculis, 
the  peach  borer  or  any  of  the  destructive  pests  known  to  the  eastern 
states. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


6l 


Cowlitz  County. 


(pOWI^lTZ  County,  situated  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  Washington 
^ Territory,  bordering  as  it  does  on  the  great  Columbia  river  for  a distance 
of  about  forty  miles  and  having  an  area  of  over  four  hundred  square  miles; 
is  well  adapted  to  agricultural,  manufacturing,  lumbering  and  mining  pur- 
poses. Also  a great  deal  of  attention  is  paid  to  fruit  raising,  which  has 
proved  Cowlitz  County  to  be  one  of  the  finest  fruit  growing  sections  in 
Washington  Territory. 

AGRICULTURAL  LANDS. 

The  land  principally  adapted  to  agricultural  purposes  is  the  land 
known  as  ‘ ‘fir  timber’  ’ land,  which  soil  will  produce  in  abundance  wheat, 
potatoes,  oats,  barley,  etc.  The  “fir  timber”  land  is  also  the  most  profit- 
able for  fruit  growing.  The  timothy  and  clover,  the  latter  being  best 
adapted  to  the  high  land  and  the  former  in  the  swails  or  ash  lands;  but 
neither  does  very  well  on  the  high  lands. 

PASTURE  LANDS. 

The  Columbia  bottoms  are  the  principal  part  of  the  settled  portion  of 
the  county,  and  its  production  is  stock,  butter  and  hay.  The  hay  raised 
•on  the  bottom  land  is  most  red-top  which  sells  readily  at  from  $10  to  $15 
per  ton  when  baled.  This  grass  crop  never  fails,  notwithstanding  in  most 
cases  it  is  pastured  all  winter,  which  is  about  three  months  out  of  the  year. 
This  scope  of  bottom  land  embraces  the  entire  strip  along  the  Columbia 
through  the  entire  length  of  the  county. 

The  farmers  in  the  Tewis  and  Cowlitz  river  bottoms  most  all  find  a ready 
market  for  their  milk  at  the  Woodland  and  Freeport  creameries,  which 
pays  them  better  to  sell  their  milk  than  to  manufacture  it  into  butter 
themselves.  The  Woodland  creamery  manufacturing  into  butter  the  milk 
from  200  cows,  and  Freeport  about  350  cows — consuming  in  the  two  local- 
ities the  milk  from  550  milch  cows,  which  adds  materially  to  the  finances 
of  the  county. 

TIMBER  LANDS. 

The  timber  consists  of  fir,  spruce,  cedar  and  ash  and  in  inexhaustible 
quantities.  The  fir  and  spruce  are  mostly  cut  on  the  small  rivers  or 
creeks,  and  floated  out  to  the  tide  water  during  the  winter  freshets  which 
comes  regularly  as  the  rainy  season  comes  around.  There  are  millions  of 
feet  of  fir  and  spruce  floated  out  each  year,  which  is  mostly  sold  to  the 
mills  of  Portland,  with  the  exception  of  what  is  consumed  by  the  mills 
supplying  the  local  trade  of  the  county.  The  cedar  is  manufactured  into 
shingles  by  the  numerous  shingle  mills  of  the  county,  and  are  shipped  to 
different  paints.  The  ash  and  small  fir  are  manufactured  into  cordwood 
which  is  a ready  sale  at  all  times  of  the  year.  All  this  land  is  the  finest 


62 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


of  agricultural  land  after  the  timber  is  removed;  thus  in  clearing  off  the 
timber,  the  price  obtained  for  the  shingles,  logs  and  wood,  pays  the 
expense  of  improving  the  land  for  farming  purposes.  There  are  thousands 
of  acres  of  these  timber  lands  still  vacant  in  the  county. 

THE  TOWNS. 

The  towns  in  this  county  are  all  beautifully  situated.  The  town  of 
Kalama  is  situated  on  the  Columbia  river,  between  the  Kalama  and  Lewis 
rivers,  and  about  seventy-five  miles  from  the  Pacific  from  which  we  receive- 
a constant  breeze,  making  it  a very  healthy  location.  There  is  no  better- 
shipping  point  in  Washington  Territory  than  is  Kalama.  Freeport  and 
Kelso,  situated  opposite  each  other  on  the  Cowlitz  river  are  surrounded 
by  fine  farming  country,  and  are  flourishing  little  towns.  Castle  rock  is 
situated  about  20  miles  north  of  Kalama  on  the  Cowlitz  river,  and  is  a, 
thriving  little  town,  but  like  Kelso  is  building  up  very  rapidly.  The- 
Northern  Pacific  railroad  passes  through  all  these  towns  except  Freeport.. 


Franklin  County. 


FRANKLIN  County,  looking  from  a commercial  stand-point,  is  the  great 
center  of  the  Inland  Empire,  situated  as  it  is  in  the  south  central  part 
of  eastern  Washington  Territory,  and  embracing  a total  area  of  737,280- 
acres  of  land.  Its  altitude  is  the  lowest  of  the  Columbia  valley,  being  only 
from  337  to  1,000  feet,  the  mean  being  only  about  600  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  while  the  average  altitude  of  the  surrounding  counties  is  not  less- 
than  1 , 500  feet,  thus  giving  this  county  a decided  advantage  in  climate. 

Pasco,  the  county  seat,  is  the  nearest  point  on  the  Columbia  river  to 
Puget  Sound,  by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  is  the  nearest  point, 
on  Snake  river  to  Portland,  Oregon,  by  way  of  the  Oregon  Railway  and 
Navigation  Company,  and  branch  of  the  Northern  Pacific- railway. 

CLIMATE. 

This  is  a feature  we  can  boast  of  and  against  which  but  little  can  be 
said.  Spring  commences  in  the  early  part  of  February,,  generally.  Dur- 
ing the  spring  and  early  part  of  the  summer  we  have  occasional  showers. 
Summers  are  long  and  warm,  but  the  nights  are  always  cool  enough  to 
sleep  comfortably  under  a pair  of  blankets.  We  have  no  mosquitoes  or 
gnats  to  trouble  man  or  beast.  The  seasons  between  frost  for  the  years 
1882-3-4  and  5,  averaged  six  months  and  two  days..  Our  winters  are 
short;  seldom  more  than  four  or  five  weeks.  Snow  fall  is  from  five  to 
eighteen  inches,  average  duration  about  twenty  days,,  when  it  is  compelled 
to  give  way  under  the  genial  influence  of  the  “Chinook”  wind.  In  the 


WASHINGTON  TBRM'f'ORY  AND  TACOMA. 


63 


spring  and  summer  we  have  occasional  windlS  From  a westerly  direction, 
but  they  are  light  as  compared  with  the  winds  of  the  middle  and  western 
states.  Cyclones,  blizzards  and  tornadoes  are  unknown. 

Our  soil  is  of  two  classes,  known  here  as  the  bunch  grass  and  sage 
brush  lands,  being  a light  brownish  sandy  loam,  of  which  the  bunch  grass 
land  is  a finer  composition,  more  compact  and  comprises  about  two-thirds 
of  the  total  area  of  the  county,  covering  the  eastern  portion,  while  that  of 
the  western  part  is  sagebrush  land. 

PRODUCTIONS. 

All  cereals  are  practically  grown  without  irrigation,  of  which  wheat, 
corn  and  barley  are  excellent  both  in  quantity  as  well  as  quality.  The 
sage  brush  lands  are  especially  adapted  to  fruit  raising.  The  home  of  the 
grape.  Also,  the  more  tender  varieties  of  vegetables,  such  as  melons, 
sweet-potatoes  and  tomatoes,  as  well  as  of  tobacoo. 

STOCK. 

Stock  horses  and  cattle  on  the  range  are  not  fed  during  the  winter. 
Good  beef  can  be  secured  the  year  around  from  the  range.  There  are  sev- 
eral thousand  head  in  this  county  of  both  horses  and  cattle, 

SHIPPING  FACILITIES. 

Our  shipping  and  marketing  facilities  are  superior  to  that  of  any 
county  in  this  part  of  the  Territory,  in  fact  cannot  be  excelled.  Snake 
river,  bounding  us  for  fifty-five  miles  on  the  east  and  south,  is  navigable 
for  three  hundred  miles,  and  is  plied  by  steamboats  at  all  seasons,  from 
Lewiston  down.  The  Columbia  river,  bounding  us  on  the  south  and  west 
for  42  miles,  is  navigable  to  the  Ocean,  save  the  portages  at  the  Dalles 
and  Cascades,  both  of  which  will  soon  be  overcome  so  that;  then  we  will 
have  direct  communication  by  water  as  well  as  by  rail  to  the  ocean  market. 
The  country  adjacent  to  the  Columbia  river  above,  has  not  until  within  the 
last  year  offered  inducements  sufficient  to  justify  navigation,  but  capitalists 
are  now  arranging  for  placing  a line  of  steamboats  on  the  river  (two  of 
which  are  now  being  built  at  Pasco)  to  open  navigation  to  the  great  Salmon 
river  mines,  as  well  as  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  of  fine  agricult- 
ural lands.  The  products  of  all  of  this  must  come  to  Pasco.  This  move 
will  of  course  cause  the  river  to  be  supplied  with  steamers  connecting  the 
Canadian  system  of  railway  with  this  point,  only  700  miles  separating 
them,  though,  connected  by  navigable  waters  gives  to  this  point  a signifi- 
cance that  no  other  point  has.  No  part  of  our  county  is  more  than  about 
fifteen  miles  from  rail  or  water  transportation,  thus  giving  it  advantages 
that  can  not  well  be  had  in  any  other  county.  For  persons  in  poor  health 
and  especially  lung  diseases,  our  climate  cannot  be  excelled. 

Lumber  and  fuel  are  rafted  down  the  rivers  and  brought  in  by  rail. 

Plenty  of  good  government  land  to  be  had,  also  railroad — both  grain 
*and  -fruit  lands. 


64 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Last  year  our  assessment  was  about  $140,000.  This  year  it  is  about 
one  million  and  perhaps  a little  more.  The  assessment  is  not  yet  com- 
pleted. A part  of  this  difference  is  caused  by  the  repeal  of  the  gross  earn- 
ings law,  though  our  county  is  settling  up  fast  as  well  as  improving.  It 
would  be  hard  to  estimate  the  amount  or  anything  like  it  that  is  to  be 
placed  in  this  county  during  the  present  year.  We  think  we  would  be 
safe  in  saying  from  one  to  two  million  dollars. 

The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  are  making  extensive  im- 
provements, as  well  as  the  county  rapidly  settling  up ; families  and  also 
colonies  are  coming  from  different  parts  of  the  United  States  to  this  place. 

When  you  come  to  Washington  Territory,  stop  at  Pasco,  and  let  us 
show  you  what  we  have  and  tell  you  of  our  inducements  offered  to  new- 
comers. Do  not  mind  the  sage  brush,  it  is  easily  removed.  Our  county 
is  out  of  debt  and  prosperous.  Our  taxes  12^2  mills  only  last  year.  Our 
health  unequaled  except  op  the  Pacific. 

If  you  wish  to  buy  lands,  enquire  for  the  editor  of  the  Pasco  Headlight , 
J.  N.  Muncy,  and  he  will  do  all  he  can  to  show  of  the  advantages  here. 
There  are  many.  We  want  some  lumbering  men  here  to  build  mills, 
also  every  other  kind  of  manufacturing  has  advantages  here  offered  ; direct 
rail  communications  with  Tacoma,  Portland,  Walla  Walla  and  the  Bast, 
in  fact  this  is  the  commercial  center,  having  the  best  advantage  of  the 
Northwest. — From  Pasco  Headlight. 


Lincoln  County. 


THIS  county  contains  2500  square  miles  and  is  generally  regarded  as  one 
of  the  finest  agricultural  portions  of  Washington  Territory.  The 
greater  portion  of  it  is  wheat  land,  the  soil  consisting  of  a dark  rich  loam 
of  from  eighteen  to  thirty  inches  in  depth,  composed  of  alluvial  deposits 
and  decomposed  vegetable  matter,  together  with  a slight  admixture  of  de- 
composed lava.  Underlying  this  is  a subsoil  of  clay.  This  soil  is  exceed- 
ingly prolific,  and  the  grazing  lands  are  such  that  Lincoln  County  has 
considerable  prominence  as  a stock  growing  county.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
east  by  Spokane  County,  on  the  west  by  Douglas  County,  on  the  north 
by  the  Columbia  and  Spokane  rivers,  and  on  the  south  by  Adams  and 
Whitman  Counties;  and  as  will  be  seen  by  consulting  the  map,  includes 
the  better  portion  of  the  famous  Big  Bend  country,  about  which  so  much 
has  been  written  by  tourists  and  correspondents.  The  Big  Bend  is  un- 
questionably one  of  the  finest  agricultural  regions  in  the  world.  Lincoln 
County  was  organized  in  November,  1883.  At  that  time  there  were  only 
2500  inhabitants.  There  are  now  over  6000,  as  shown  by  the  assessor’s 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


65 


returns.  The  assessed  valuation  of  property  is  stated  as  $2,346,570. 
The  total  value  of  school  houses,  $15,000.  Number  of  school  children, 
2740.  A new  court  house  of  modest  proportions  and  small  cost  is  now  in 
course  of  erection. 

Sprague,  the  county  seat,  is  a thriving  town  of  1500  inhabitants.  It 
is  located  in  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  county,  on  the  line  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway.  The  headquarters  of  the  Idaho  division  of  the 
road  are  permanently  located  here,  with  the  machine  shops  and  car  shops. 
All  trains  passing  through  either  way  halt  here  half  an  hour.  Sprague  is 
well  located  for  a trade  center  and  shipping  point,  and  is  destined  to  be- 
come a place  of  considerable  importance  as  an  inland  commercial  center. 
Targe  numbers  of  horses,  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep  are  brought  here  for 
shipment  to  the  east  and  to  Portland,  Oregon,  from  the  adjoining  counties 
of  Whitman,  Spokane,  Adams  and  Douglas. 

There  are  plenty  of  vacant  government  lands,  and  quite  desirable, 
within  a short  distance  of  market  points  for  the  sale  of  produce  and  stock, 
subject  to  entry  under  the  land  laws.  There  are  a great  many  fine  tracts 
of  railroad  land  still  within  easy  reach,  at  from  $3.50  to  $5  per  acre. 
This  can  be  bought  on  long  time  at  a low  rate  of  interest. 


Real  Estate  Loans. 


FROM  the  information  given  in  the  preceding  pages  concerning  Tacoma 
and  Washington  Territory,  it  will  appear  that  there  are  portions  of 
Washington  Territory  which  can  offer  to  Eastern  investors  in  real  estate 
mortgages  as  safe  securities  as  any  other  portion  of  the  United  States. 

Scarcity  of  money  has  been  incident  in  the  development  of  all  our 
Western  Territory.  In  the  early  days  of  all  our  Western  States,  the  great 
demand  for  money  coupled  with  the  insufficiency  of  fhe  supply  caused  the 
rates  of  interest  to  rule  high.  As  the  country  developed,  and  as  the  sup- 
ply of  money  from  the  East  increased,  the  rates  of  interest,  following  the 
law  of  “supply  and  demand,”  gradually  diminished. 

Washington  Territory  is  not  an  exception  to  the  experience  of  Kansas, 
Nebraska,  Dakota  and  other  western  sections  of  the  country.  Two  and 
three  years  ago  we  were  able  here  to  obtain  ten  and  twelve  per  cent,  per 
annum  on  real  estate  mortgage  loans,  running  from  three  to  five  years. 
During  the  past  two  years  the  immigration  to  this  country  has  increased 
rapidly,  and  added  materially  to  the  circulation  of  money  here.  The  crops 
generally  throughout  the  Territory  this  past  year  have  brought  good  prices. 
The  hop  fields  of  Puget  Sound  have  yielded  this  past  year  on  an  average 
two  thousand  pounds  to  the  acre,  and  the  crop  has  sold  at  from  25  cents 


66 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


to  33  cents  per  pound.  This  alone  has  added  to  the  circulation  here  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  addition  to  this,  a large  amount  of  Eastern 
capital  has  sought  and  found  investment  here  through  various  loaning 
agencies,  and  this  influx  of  money  has  naturally  reduced  the  rate  of  interest 
on  long  time  real  estate  loans.  In  February  of  last  year  (1887)  the  Mer- 
chants National  Bank  of  this  city  reduced  its  rates  of  interest  to  10  per 
cent,  on  short  time  loans,  and  the  other  banks  of  this  city  immediately 
followed  its  example. 

This  being  the  case , I can  no  longer  assure  to  my  Eastei  n patrons  a ten 
per  cent,  rate  on  five  year  loans , as  heretofore , but  can  only  pyomise  to  get  the 
best  7 ate  obtainable,  on  unquestionably  good  security.  This  rate  of  interest 
is  9 per  cent.,  and  the  time  for  which  the  loan  will  run  will  be  from  three 
to  five  years. 

UntiL  recently  I have  invariably  made  the  interest  payments  on  all 
loans  semi-annual,  but  with  farmers  especially,  the  payment  of  interest 
semi-annually  is  objectionable,  as  their  chief  income  is  in  the  Fall.  Where 
the  borrowers  do  not  positively  object,  I make  the  interest  payments  semi- 
annual. 

The  attention  of  eastern  investors  is  called  to  the  fact  that  in  Wash- 
ington territory  non-resident  mortgagees  are  exempt  from  taxation.  This 
exemption  is  probably  owing  to  the  fact  that  while  the  territory  is  young 
and  rapidly  growing  the  investment  of  eastern  capital  is  courted  to  assist 
in  the  general  development  of  the  various  resources  of  the  territory. 

There  is  no  usury  law  in  Washington  territory;  section  2369  of  the 
code  of  the  territory  makes  any  rate  of  interest  agreed  upon  by  parties  to 
a contract,  specifying  the  same  in  writing,  legal  and  valid.  The  laws  for 
the  protection  of  mortgagees  in  Washington  territory  are  fully  as  favorable 
as  those  to  be  found  in  any  state  of  the  Union.  The  legislature  of  the 
territory  in  1886,  passed  a law  that  the  judgment  debtor  or  his  successor 
in  interest  may  redeem  any  real  estate  held  under  execution  of  judgment 
or  foreclosure  of  mortgage,  at  any  time  within  one  year  from  the  date  of 
the  sale  by  paying  the  amount  of  purchase  money,  with  interest  at  the 
rate  of  one  per  cent,  per  month  thereon  from  the  date  of  sale,  together  with 
the  amount  of  any  taxes  which  the  purchaser  may  have  paid. 

I use  an  approved  form  of  coupon  note  and  mortgage  that  has  stood 
the  test  of  the  courts. 

The  coupon  interest  notes  should  be  paid  at  my  office  or  at  the  Tacoma 
National  Bank  for  collection  a few  days  before  the  same  are  due.  Asa  7ule 
bo?rowe?s  insist  on  having  their  coupons  surrendered  when  they  pay  their 
interest. 

On  all  loans  in  Pierce  county,  I examine  the  public  records  in  the 
Auditor’s  office  as  to  the  title  to  the  property  myself,  and  with  all  loans 
in  other  counties  I require  a complete  abstract  of  title  to  the  property,  or 
the  County  Auditor’s  [Recorder’s]  certificate  that  the  title  to  the  property 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


67 


is  vested  in  fee  simple  in  the  mortgagor,  and  is  free  from  any  and  all  in- 
cumbrances at  the  time  the  loan  is  placed. 

I give  my  personal  attention  to  the  execution  of  the  papers  in  every 
loan  I make  in  Pierce  county,  and  the  mortgage,  after  being  properly 
recorded  in  the  Auditor’s  office,  and  all  of  the  papers  with  the  loan,  are 
sent  to  the  loaner  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  loan  is  closed. 

My  loans  in  other  counties  than  Pierce  county  are  made  through 
agents  with  whom  I am  personally  acquainted  and  on  securities  that  are 
approved  by  responsible  parties  before  the  loans  are  closed. 

The  mortgagee’s  interest  in  every  security  so  far  as  payment  of  taxes, 
insurance  and  assessments  are  concerned,  is  looked  after  as  carefully  by 
myself  and  agents  as  if  the  mortgagee  were  here  personally  to  do  this  for 
himself. 


My  mortgages  are  so  worded  and  notes  so  drawn  that  a default  in  the 
payment  of  interest  makes  the  whole  sum  of  principal  and  interest  fall  due 
and  payable  at  the  option  of  the  mortgagee,  and  on  all  coupon  interest  notes 
I make  the  penalty  for  non-payment  of  interest,  two  per  cent,  per  month. 
This  operates  as  a potent  persuader  for  promptness.  Interest  payments 
are  always  collected  and  remitted  to  the  mortgagee  without  expense  or 
charge  to  him. 

My  business  here  is  done  through  the  Tacoma  National  Bank,  to 
which  bank  remittances  may  be  made  direct,  with  instructions  that  the 
same  are  to  be  loaned  by  me  on  such  real  estate  as  the  bank  will  approve 
as  safe,  conservative  security.  In  this  way  the  non-resident  loaner  may 
be  assured  that  his  loans  are  absolutely  safe. 

Principal  and  interest  on  all  of  my  loans  are  made  payable  at  the 
Tacoma  National  Bank,  with  New  York  exchange.  In  case  of  my  death 
the  collection  of  principal  and  interest  on  any  loan  can  be  made  through 
that  Bank. 

The  distance  of  our  locality  from  you  being  so  great  as  to  require 
several  days  for  the  transmission  of  letters,  and  realizing  the  fact  that  it  is 
to  the  interest  of  my  eastern  clients  as  well  as  to  my  own  interest  to  have 
a system  by  which  we  can  communicate  with  each  other  by  telegraph  as 
cheaply  as  possible,  the  following  key  is  given  which  can  be  used  in  com- 
municating with  me: 


Question.  . . . 

Hasten 

Supper 

General 

Family 

Morgan  .... 

Island 

Twelve  . . . 

Ten 

Require  .... 
Normal.  . . . 
Insurance. 
Chatham  . . . 


May  I draw  at  sight  for 

Wire  name  of  mortgagee 

First-class  improved  farm  security 

First-class  business  property 

First-class  residence  property 

Can  give  you 

Tacoma  National  Bank  approves  the  loan 

Twelve  per  cent,  per  annum 

Ten  per  cent,  per  annum 

Will  you  remit  draft  for  loan  of 

■ • - • Hundred  dollars 

The  insurance  which  will  be  assigned  as  part  security  is 
Draw  upon  me  at  sight  for 


68 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Boston  I accept  your  proposition  in  your  letter  of 

Roxbury  Cannot  accept  your  proposition  in  your  letter  of 

Hartford  . Inform  me  by  wire  what  is  the  best  you  can  do  for  me  as 

to  time  and  rate  on. 

Portland  Something  specially  strong  as  to  security 

Essex Wait  letter  before  deciding 

Muck.  Best  quality  bottom  land  drained 

Loam Clay  loam  soil 

Accident Did  you  receive  my  letter  dated 

Warning  I have  this  day  remitted  New  York  draft  payable  to  your  order 

for  the  sum  of. 

Judgment  Invest  for  me  on  the  best  security  possible 

Prepare I have  this  day  drawn  on  you  at  sight  for 

In  most  cases  where  parties  in  the  east  telegraph  me  the  day  the  draft  is 
sent  and  the  amount,  I can  arrange  here  so  that  not  a days’s  interest  shall 
be  lost. 


Remittances  should  be  made  by  draft  on  New  York  or  certified  check. 

As  our  Territory  develops,  other  avenues  for  investment  than  real 
estate  loans  are  presenting  themselves,  and  among  these  may  be  mentioned^ 
city  and  county  warrants,  school  warrants,  water  and  gas  works  bonds, 
etc.,  etc.  In  many  cases  these  run  for  a period  of  years  and  at  rates  of 
interest  equal  to  that  obtainable  on  real  estate  loans. 

Samples  of  papers  used  by  me  in  making  loans,  together  with  full  in- 
formation connected  with  my  business  will  be  furnished  on  application. 

Eastern  references  will  be  furnished  on  application.  Home  references 
— any  responsible  citizen  of  the  city  who  knows  me. 

Respectfully,  AEEEN  C.  MASON, 

Negotiator  of  Real  Estate  Eoans, 

Tacoma,  W.  T. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


69 


TACOMA,  THE  SOUND  CITY, 


Strange  Coincidence  in  the  Location  of  Tacoma  and  one  of  Iowa’s  Thriv- 
ing Cities. — The  Wisdom  of  Gen.  McCarver’s  Second  Selection  Apparent 
to  the  Visitor  to  Tacoma. — Her  Harbor  Conceded  to  be  Unsurpassed  on 
Either  the  Ateantic  or  Pacific. — To  the  East,  Majestic  Mountains  that 
Rear  Their  Peaks  High  Heavenward. — Fed  by  a Remarkably  Rich 
Agricueturae  and  Minerae  District. — A City  of  Cities. — Tacoma,  a City 
But  Fourteen  Years  Oed,  With  a Present  and  Assured  Future  Seedom 
Equaeed. — Naturae  Advantages  by  Location. — Shipping  Facieities. 


ACOMA,  W.  T.,  Special  Correspondence  Pioneer  Press,  April  9. — Men 


\ rarely  build  their  own  monuments,  and  it  is  still  more  rare  when 
they  are  built  in  miles  upon  miles  of  massive  blocks  of  business  houses,  or 
greater  distances  in  stately  and  attractive  homes.  It  is  singularly  strange 
that  one  man  should  leave  two  monuments  in  the  existence  of  two  thriv- 
ing cities — yet  the  man  who  located  the  town  sites  of  Tacoma,  Washing- 
ton Territory,  and  Burlington,  Iowa  Territory,  builded  better  than  he 
knew.  These  two  cities  were  located  b}^  Gen.  M.  M.  McCarver.  There  is 
a coincidence  in  the  earlier  history  of  these  two  cities  that  would  seem  to 
have  been  a good  omen.  Destiny  had  carved  out  for  the  bustling  metrop- 
olis on  the  Mississippi  a promising  future,  the  consumation  of  which  is  in 
the  existence  of  a city  with  over  thirty  thousand  people  developed  solely 
through  agriculture  and  its  kindred  resources.  And  destiny  will  Carve 
out  for  Tacoma  a future,  now  so  rapidly  appearing,  in  which  the  popula- 
tion will  be  multiplied  many  times  over  that  of  the  city  that  Gen.  Mc- 
Carver first  located.  Back  in  the  early  thirties,  while  Iowa  was  still  a ter- 
ritory, Gen.  McCarver  was  selected  to  locate  the  site  of  a town  on  the 
Mississippi  river.  Night  overtook  him  some  five  miles  from  the  present 
city  of  Burlington,  and  the  sparse  settlements  in  those  early  days  gave 
him  shelter  on  that  night  in  a little  log  cabin:  During  this  night,  in  this 
cabin,  a baby  boy  was  born,  and  when  the  general  bade  farewell  to  the 
little  household  to  locate  the  city  of  Burlington,  he  little  dreamed  that  the 
baby  boy  he  left  on  the  Iowa  prairie  would  be  encountered  in  after  life, 


70 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


The  general  drifted  to  California  and  thence  to  Oregon,  being  prominently 
identified  with  the  early  history  of  these  two  states.  About  seventeen 
years  ago,  Gen.  McCarver  was  again  selected  to  traverse  the  shores  of 
Puget  Sound  to  locate  a town.  His  protege,  the  city  on  the  Mississippi, 
had  in  its  growth  and  development,  established  his  wisdom  in  the  selection 
of  a proper  location,  and  hence  his  employment  by  his  own  syndicate  for 
this  new  mission.  After  traveling  along  the  shores  of  the  Sound,  night 
again  overtook  him,  when  he  found  shelter  in  the  only  cabin  then  in  this  im- 
mediate neighborhood.  The  coincidence  and  good  omen  came  to  the  sur- 
face in  the  discovery  of  the  fact  that  the  owner  of  the  cabin,  then  located 
immediately  back  of  the  bay  from  where  old  Tacoma  now  is,  was  the 
identical  baby  boy  born  on  the  morning  of  the  day  that  Burlington,  Iowa, 
was  located.  It  seemed 

TIKE  A REVEEATION 

to  Gen.  McCarver,  who  taking  the  event  as  indicative  of  good,  immed- 
iately made  the  location  of  Tacoma,  truly  the  city  of  destiny.  Gen.  Mc- 
Carver and  his  new  found  friend,  the  man  of  Iowa  birth,  have  passed  away 
ere  either  could  witness  the  fulfillment  of  their  hopes  in  the  growth  of  the 
then  new  town  of  Tacoma.  Were  the  general  living,  he  would  see  a city 
whose  future  greatness  is  beyond  all  human  computation.  This  greatness 
is  already  assured,  located  as  Tacoma  is  on  Commencement  Bay  in  Pu- 
get Sound,  with  a harbor  so  perfect  and  so  completely  a refuge  for  all  ocean 
craft,  neither  science,  art  nor  money  could  have  built  it  better  or  more 
safely.  The  water  course  from  the  wharves  of  this  city  out  through  the 
straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  to  Cape  Flattery  is  from  twenty  to  one  hundred 
fathoms  deep,  making  perfect  and  unobstructed  sailing,  enabling  the 
largest  craft  or  steamer — even  the  Great  Eastern — to  sail  right  up  to  the 
wharves  of  this  city.  The  superior  to  Tacoma  in  accessible  navigation  is 
hardly  to  be  found  on  the  Atlantic  or  Pacific  coast.  Resting  safe  on  this 
harbor,  free  from  the  dangers  of  a rugged  coast,  yet  enjoying  the  salt 
water  breezes  with  their  health-giving,  invigorating  qualities,  is  this  truly 
more  than  wonderful  city,  whose  inhabitants  have  but  to  step  from  wharves 
ovei;  gang  planks  aboard  of  the  largest  vessel  that  can  float  in  any  water 
in  the  known  world,  and  the  vessel  can  steam  out  or  sail  majestically 
without  tug,  encountering  neither  bar,  reef,  nor  rocks,  into  the  great  Pa- 
cific ocean.  As  for  scenery,  there  is  no  place  more  gifted.  Off  to  the 
east,  just  sixty  miles  away,  stands  the  majestic  mountain  that  rears  its 
lofty  head  toward  the  skies  to  the  distance  of  nearly  15,000  feet, 
the  grandest  of  all  peaks  in  the  Cascade  range.  It  seems  to  pose  like  a 
royal  sentinel,  its  gorgeous  beauty  tinted  at  times  in  prismatic  hues  and 
standing  boldly  outlined,  piercing  its  mighty  top  through  the  clouds  in 
seeming  disdainful  defiance  to  all  save  the  God  who  made  it.  So  grand 
and  imposing  is  this  Mount  Tacoma  that  the  observer  views  it  in  amaze- 
ment, his  soul  filling  with  the  thoughts  of  the  majesty  of  the  being  who 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA.  7 1 


placed  this  wondrous  mountain,  mantled  forever  in  snow,  in  the  midst  of 
a country  so  plenteous,  and  in  an  atmosphere  so  clear  that  the  vision  is  de- 
ceived in  the  belief  that  (though  sixty  miles  away)  one  might  with  out- 
stretched arms  almost  touch  its  crest.  Mount  Tacoma,  by  its  mightiness, 
presents  to  the  eye  a world  of  wondrous  beauty,  and  it  proves  the  utter 
fallacy  of  Americans  going  abroad  to  witness  scenes  of  majestic  greatness 
or  mountain  loveliness.  Here  is  a mountain  whose  massive  crest  is  an 
eternal  glacier,  which,  under  the  heat  of  a genial  sun  and  the  warm,  gentle 
zephyrs  of 

THIS  SEMI-TROPICAT  CEIMATE, 

melts  into  streams  of  waters  to  enrich  the  beautiful  and  productive  valleys 
below.  These  streams  of  melted  snow  and  ice  course  through  the  chan- 
nels that  time  has  marked  for  them,  until  they  reach  the  mighty  Pacific 
ocean,  resting  at  the  base  of  Mount  Tacoma.  Nature  has  been  lavish  to 
this  section,  of  which  Tacoma  is  the  great  commercial  center.  To  the 
eastward  is  the  great  range  of  the  Cascade  mountains,  at  whose  feet  rest 
the  fertile  valleys  of  the  Yakima.  These  valleys,  so  rich  in  deep  alluvial 
soil,  watered  by  plenteous  and  never-failing  streams  whose  sources  are 
found  high  up  in  the  Cascades,  are  thus  assured  eternal  moistures  for  pre- 
cedent yields  in  cereals  and  all  agricultural  products  which  will  find  the 
markets  of  the  world  through  the  great  Cascade  tunnel  of  the  Northern 
Pacific,  thence  by  the  waters  of  Puget  Sound  out  into  the  ocean.  In  these 
ranges  of  the  Cascades,  or  tributary  lands,  are  found  inexhaustible  mines 
of  coal,  iron  and  even  precious  metals.  Not  even  Pennsylvania  is  so  fav- 
ored, for  in  the  canyons  of  the  ranges,  by  tunnelling  into  the  mountain 
side  from  the  very  surface  of  the  ground,  magnificent  bituminous  coal  is 
found,  which  makes  a coke,  the  superior  of  British  coke.  Above  the  coal 
great  mountains  of  iron  exist,  of  a quality  that  makes  steel  rails.  Ordi- 
nary chutes  drop  the  iron  to  the  coal;  no  shafting,  no  hoisting  nor  massive 
machinery  are  required.  All  over  these  mountains  and  running  down  to 
the  shores  of  the  bay  are  massive  forests,  with  trees  so  large  and  tall  that 
the  greatest  ship  that  ever  sailed  carries  no  timber  that  could  not  be  du- 
plicated here.  And  the  abundance  of  coal,  iron  and  lumber  is  past  calcu- 
lation— enough  to  support  a city  whose  population  could  be  larger  than 
the  combined  cities  in  America.  Neither  has  nature  stopped  here — she 
has  given  this  country  a climate  so  mild  that  a day  has  never  yet  been  seen 
during  which  outdoor  work  could  not  be  done  without  even  the  possibility 
of  suffering.  Added  to  all  of  this,  the  fish  food  of  these  waters,  if  util- 
ized, would  feed  the  continent,  and  all  this  is  the  foundation  of  Tacoma,  a 
city  with  possibilities  before  her  greater  than  any  other  city  in  America 
ever  had  at  a parallel  age.  This  advantage,  gained  by  the  wonderful 
facilities  of  the  present  day,  which  facilities  did  not  exist  when  such  cities 
as  New  York,  Chicago  and  Pittsburg  were  only  fourteen  years  old. 


72 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


WHENCE  HER  GREATNESS. 

A Wonderfully  Rich  Ag?  {cultural  Country  Tributary  to  Tacoma — A 

Rival  of  Duluth — Vast  Expoits  From  This  Port — Shipments  to 

Chma — A New  Route  to  Europe. 

To  the  man  who  has  watched  the  development  of  the  great  North- 
west, the  growth  of  western  towns  is  no  marvel.  The  same  man  can  read- 
ily see,  when  the  facts  are  placed  before  him,  why  the  city  of  Tacoma  is 
to  become  a very  great  city.  There  is  no  city  on  the  American  continent 
that  can  rightfully  be  compared  to  this  city  in  its  past,  present  or  future 
possibilities.  In  the  start,  let  the  prophecy  be  recorded  that  the  now  fast- 
approaching  great  growth  of  this  city  will  outstrip  the  marvelous  record 
of  any  city  extant,  not  excepting  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul,  Kansas  City, 
Omaha  or  Denver.  The  immediate  feature  of  Tacoma,  however,  promises 
greater  than  the  realization  of  Kansas  City,  Omaha  or  Denver,  and  it  is 
destined  to  equal  the  present  proportions  of  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis. 
The  reason  for  this  prediction  may  here  be  set  forth.  First,  the  Northern 
Pacific  railway  is  an  enormous  corporation,  the  main  transcontinental  and 
great  trunk  line  in  America — the  only  corporation  running  thousands  of 
miles  through  a country  that,  in  sections  or  its  entirety,  is  capable  of  some 
form  of  product  to  support  and  maintain  a railway.  The  great  Pennsyl- 
vania line  was  fostered,  nourished  and  really  built  by  the  one  state  of 
Pennsylvania,  its  chief  original  earnings  coming  from  the  mineral  pro- 
ducts of  that  state.  The  Northern  Pacific  started  with  a gift  in  land  that 
made  it  wealthy.  It  goes  through  one  great  state  and  four  great  territor- 
ies. It  commences  normally  on  the  great  lakes  and  ends  on  Puget  Sound 
(or  the  Pacific  ocean)  at  Tacoma,  this  city  having  easier,  less  expensive 
and  nearer  great  sea- trading  centers  than  San  Francisco  or  Portland.  In 
1873,  in  compliance  with  the  requirements  of  its  charter,  the  Northern  Pa- 
cific appointed  a competent,  conservative  and  intelligent  commission  to 
make  the  location  of  its  terminus,  somewhere  on  Puget  Sound.  The  re- 
port of  that  commission  culminated  in  a full  meeting  of  the  directory  of 
the  Northern  Pacific,  Sept.  10,  1873,  as  per  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved , That  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  locate  and  construct  its 
main  road  to  a point  on  Puget  Sound  on  the  southerly  side  of  Commencement  Bay, 
in  town  21,  north  of  range  3 east  of  Willamette  meridian,  and  within  the  limits  of 
the  city  of  Tacoma,  which  point  in  the  said  city  of  Tacoma  is  declared  to  be  the 
western  terminus  of  the  main  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific. 

Here  then  is  the  foundation  stone  of  Tacoma,  and  what  Gen.  McCar- 
ver  discovered  the  Northern  Pacific  has  made.  The  casual  reader  may  not 
discern  any  import  in  the  fact  that  a great  railroad  has  selected  a city  for 
its  terminus,  but  let  us  see  its  significance.  Somewhere  in  Western  Da- 
kota or  Eastern  Montana,  all  other  things  being  equal,  will  be  the  dividing 
line  of  this  road.  All  products  raised  to  the  east  of  this  line  must  find  a 
market  and  outlet  by  way  of  Duluth;  all  products  to  the  west  of  that  line 
must  find  a market 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


73 


VIA  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN. 

It  is  conceded  by  the  result  of  test  that  all  the  states  and  territories 
through  which  the  Northern  Pacific  passes,  raise  a hundred,  yes  thousand 
fold  more  (or  can,)  in  products  than  it  can  consume,  and  these  must  have 
a market.  Now  which  city  is  the  key  to  the  greatest  and  most  easily 
accessible  market — Duluth  or  Tacoma?  The  first  has  the  eventual  final 
market  of  Europe,  via  Chicago  and  Buffalo  for  all  surplus  or  unconsumed 
products.  Tacoma  has  identically  the  same  market  at  actually  less  cost 
to  reach  it  than  via  Duluth.  When  the  statement  is  made  that  there  are 
vast  exports  sent  from  this  port,  it  will  either  arouse  the  credulity  of  some 
readers  or  amaze  them.  Here  are  the  figures  for  Puget  Sound  as  compiled 
at  Port  Townsend,  the  port  of  entry,  and  it  is  gathered  as  shown  for  1885, 
1886  and  1887,  the  increase  in  1887  over  1885  being  over  six  million  dollars. 
three  years’  shipments. 


Exports. 

1885. 

Dollars 

1886. 

Dollars. 

1887. 

Dollars 

Increase 
of  1887 
over  1885. 

Dumber  for  foreign  ports 

Freight  money  for  above 

Lumber  coastwise 

Freight  money  for  above 

Coal  coastwise 

1.076.000 

830.000 

2.040.000 

850.000 
1,037,750 

740,250 

200.000 

30.000 

62.000 

1,142,470 

1,061,790 

1,888,000 

710.000 
1,589,980 

853,988 

300.000 
40,000 

1,003,186 

860,328 

3,349,957 

1,289,445 

2,602,600 

1,301,300 

i,364,322 

1,000,000 

49,375 

1,309,957 

439,445 

1,564,850 

561,050 

1,164,322 

970,000 

Freight  monev  for  above 

Produce  of  all  kinds 

Merchandise  to  Alaska 

Value 

Total 

6,866,000 

8,036,228 

12,820,513 

6,009,624 

The  following  table  shows  the  destination  of  these  exports: 

EUMBER  AND  WHEAT  SHIPMENTS. 


Falmouth 

Melbourne 

Hawaiian  Islands 

Sydney 

Valparaiso 

Callao 

Mexico 

Hobson’s  Bay.  . . 

Iquique 

Hong  Kong.*. . . . 

River  Platte 

Coquimbo 

Tokio 

Townsville 

Brisbane 

Montevideo 

Buenos  Ayres 
Todas  Santos 
Samoan  Islands.  . 

Total  


Destination. 


No.  of 
Car- 

Feet of 
Lumber. 

Values. 

goes. 

1 

*33,937 

149,375 

35 

24,844,615 

335,402 

25 

13,697,096 

178,062 

16 

9>9I4,I3° 

128,883 

13 

9, 1 9°,  99° 

124,078 

4 

2,770,113 

37,n5 

1 3 

1,249,105 

16,862 

1 

1,778,834 

24,014 

2 

1,435,300 

18,658 

2 

1,257,000 

16,341 

1 

1,030,000 

13,390 

2 

99  b 5°° 

13,085 

1 

490,000 

7,5oo 

1 2 

670,000 

9V45 

1 

300,000 

3,9oo 

1 

558,073 

7,254 

1 

573,620 

7,457 

2 

613,000 

8,475 

1 

330,000 

4,290 

1 14 

71,693,383 

$1,003,186 

*Sacks  wheat. 


74 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Of  the  cargoes  sent  to  foreign  ports,  40  were  in  American  vessels,  30 
in  British,  23  in  Norwegian,  7 in  Swedish,  6 in  Chilian,  5 in  German,  2 
in  Hawaiian  and  1 in  Nicaraguan.  The  freight  money  received  in  trans- 
porting the  lumber  averaged  $12  per  1000  feet,  amounting  to  $860,328. 
Three  hundred  and  seventy-seven  cargoes  of  lumber  were  sent  in  Ameri- 
can vessels  to  coastwise  ports,  amounting  to  257,689,438  feet,  valued  at 
$3,349,957.  The  freight  money  received  for  transportation  averaged  $6 
per  1000  feet,  amounting  to  $1,289,445. 

how  distributed. 

For  the  benefit  of  doubtful  students  in  geography,  the  shipments  in 

1885  are  given  herewith — the  shipments  above  covering  cargoes  sent  out  in 
1887,  the  following  list  having  been  taken  from  shipping  records  at  the 
wharves  in  Tacoma,  as  follows: 

Distributed  to  the  following  foreign  countries:  Chili,  Peru,  Bolivia, 
Argentine  Republic,  Uruguay,  Mexico,  United  States  of  Columbia,  Nor- 
way, England,  Ireland,  British  possessions  in  Australia,  New  Caledonia, 
Hawaiian  Islands,  British  Columbia,  China  and  Japan. 

From  the  above,  the  reader  is  left  to  his  own  conjectures  as  to  the 
possibilities  of  Tacoma,  as  he  notes  that  this  city  has  the  market  of  the 
world  before  it;  but  for  his  further  enlightment  he  must  consider  that  the 
expense  of  pulling  heavy  trains  by  the  way  of  the  ‘ ‘switch  back’  ’ across 
the  Cascade  mountains  naturally  deters  shipments,  and  it  must  also  be  re- 
membered that  even  the  “switchback”  track  has  not  been  in  existence 
long. 

This  fact  will  explain  why,  as  yet,  but  little  of  this  export  has  been 
received  from  east  of  the  mountains,  the  increase  in  exports  of  1887  over 

1886  coming  partly  from  the  railway  traffic  over  the  switchback.  In  other 
words,  the  furthest  east  that  exports  have  been  received  is  from  Spokane 
Falls.  The  great  tunnel  through  the  Cascade  mountains,  which  the 
Northern  Pacific  will  have  finished  by  June  1,  at  the  furthest,  possibly 
twenty  days  sooner,  will  be  the  cause  of  doubling  the  exports  for  1888. 
Another  important  fact  is  that  Eastern  Washington  is  now  filling  up  in  its 
agricultural  districts  as  rapidly  as  Dakota  ever  augmented  its  population. 
The  same  applies  to  the  Big  Bend  countries,  the  Yakima  and  Kittitas  val- 
leys and  the  long  stretch  of  agricultural  land  in  the  Palouse  country,  all 
east  of  the  Cascades. 

THIS  INCREASED  POPUEATION 

will  treble  the  increase  of  acreage  employed.  The  most  startling,  yet  true, 
statement  is  that  any  and  all  of  these  enumerated  sections  will  raise  more 
wheat  and  grain  to  the  area,  of  acreage  than  any  other  country  known  to 
man.  The  actual  yield  of  wheat  per  acre  in  these  valleys  will  be  thirty  to 
thirty-five  bushels,  and  where  will  this  surplus  grain  find  market?  Via 
Tacoma  and  Puget  Sound.  If  the  price  of  wheat  continues  low,  remem- 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


75 


ber  that,  while  Dakota  is  raising  her  average  of  twenty-three  bushels  per 
acre,  Washington  Territory  is  raising  her  thirty-five  bushels  on  the  same 
amount  of  land,  viz.,  one  acre,  and  with  an  ocean  outlet,  with  freight  to 
Liverpool  less  than  to  New  York,  yes,  less  than  to  Chicago;  the  Washing- 
ton Territory  farmer  can  continue  to  raise  wheat  at  half  the  price  Dakota 
does.  Can  the  reader  now  realize  what  it  is  that  will  make  Tacoma  grow  ? 
And  yet,  this  one  item  of  grain  is  the  weakest  or  lightest  revenue  of  this 
coast.  Consider  also,  that  when  the  country  tributary  to  this  coast  is  as 
fully  settled  as  Minnesota  and  Dakota,  and  this  settlement  is  coming  now 
so  rapidly  that  Tacoma  will  handle  all  the  surplus  products  raised  from  the 
Eastern  Montana  line  to  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound.  When  that  time 
comes,  how  much  more  in  shipments  will  Duluth  have  over  Tacoma? 
Duluth  has  jumped  into  a population  of  37,000  people  from  15,000  in  about 
two  years.  Tacoma  will  grow  faster,  if  a water  front  and  shipping  inter- 
est make  a city,  for  now  Tacoma  is  an  infant  shipping  port  to  what  she  will 
be  five  years  hence.  Duluth  has  several  railroads — five  or  more.  Tacoma 
has  one.  It  will  take  two  or  three  years  to  build  another  road  over  these 
mountains.  As  Tacoma  has  the  only  eastern  railway  outlet  direct,  and  is 
the  actual  inevitable  and  permanent  terminus  of  a main  trunk  line,  she 
will  grow  beyond  the  fear  of  any  possible  rival,  and  her  prestige  will  be 
settled  and  assured  ere  any  rival  city  on  this  coast  can  equal  or  outstrip 
her.  If  the  many  railways  running  into  Duluth  should  reduce  the  price 
of  freight  and  also  force  each  road  to  cut  or  fight  for  its  pro  rata  share  of 
freight,  could  not  the  Northern  Pacific,  for  the  sake  of  carrying  the  most 
of  the  produce,  make  rates  that  would  justify  it  (by  the  increased  quantity 
of  each  crop  it  would  get)  in  hauling  grain  for  an  European  market  via 
Tacoma?  It  could  land  the  volume  of  grain  products  from  the  Missouri 
slope  in  Dakota  to  this  coast,  reaping  its  reward,  even  if  it  carries  it  at  a 
less  prorata  rate  than  to  Duluth,  simply  because  it  could  thus  carry  the 
whole  product  to  market  without  dividing  the  haul  with  competitors. 
New  York  is  in  the  front  of  America,  with  the  markets  of  the  world  be~ 
fore  it.  Tacoma  is  in  the  rear  of  America,  with  the  same  market;  and’ 
while  the  distance  to  Liverpool  via  Cape  Horn  forces  the  longer  trip  for 
sailing  vessels  from  here  instead  of  New  York,  the  nearness  of  China  and 
Japan  to  Tacoma  over  New  York  more  than  compensates;  with  this  addi- 
tional advantage  to  Tacoma  that  China  is  emulating  the  progressive  nations 
and  is  fast  becoming  our  very  best  foreign  customer. 


76 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Coal  and  Iron  Galore. 


Her  Coae  Interests  One  of  the  Most  Vitae  Factors  in  the  Wonderful 
Growth  of  Tacoma. — A Vast  Increasing  Home  Demand  with  Excellent 
Markets  to  the  East  and  South. — All  Choicest  Gas  and  Coking  Coals 
have  been  Found  and  are  being  Mined. — Iron  Ore  in  Inexhaustible 
Quantities  on  Either  Side  of  the  Cascade  Range. — The  Entire  Product 
of  the  Alaskan  Gold  Mines  to  be  Sent  to  Tacoma  for  Reduction. — Puget 
Coal  Fields. — An  Important  and  Certain  Factor  in  the  Growth  of 
Tacoma. — Black  Diamonds  Unsurpassed  in  Quality. — California  in  the 
Field. — The  Principal  Mines. 


7"ACOMA,  W.  T.,  Special  Correspondence  Pioneer  Press,  April  9. — The 
coal  interests  of  Tacoma,  through  its  immediate  tributary  fields,  is  a 
vitally  important  and  now  certain  factor  in  the  development  and  rapid 
growth  of  this  city,  and  it  is  destined  to  be  one  of  the  most  important 
industries.  Aside  from  the  vast  increasing  home  demand;  the  coal  inter- 
ests have  a market  to  the  east  practically  to  the  Dakota  line,  and  in  gas  and 
coking  coals  Dakota  can  be  included  as  a purchaser.  Better  coals  are 
found  as  mining  progresses,  and  economy  in  production  is  fast  securing  a 
minimum  cost.  If  the  lower  beds  in  the  formation  should  yield  a better 
•coal,  the  greater  advantage  is  with  this  section — yet  all  these  coals  are 
merchantable,  and  are  fast  supplanting  foreign  coals  in  California.  That 
state  consumed  1,500,000  tons  in  1886.  Up  to  a very  recent  date  the 
capital  employed,  the  means  of  transportation  to  market  and  the  number 
of  available  mines  were  limited.  Now,  though  the  coal  interest  here  is  in 
its  infancy,  it  is  becoming  a leading  export  in  the  costwise  trade,  and  if 
the  California  demand  continues  to  increase  in  the  ratio  of  the  past,  75  per 
cent,  of  the  coal  used  in  that  state  will  be  furnished  from  the  coal  fields  of 
Puget  Sound.  A better  conception  of  the  extent  of  the  California  demand 
is  shown  in  the  fact  that  that  state  has  no  coal,  or  nominally  none,  and 
the  larger  mines  in  this  and  adjacent  counties  are  owned  and  worked  by 
California  railroads.  The  Central  Pacific  own  and  consume  the  entire 
yield  of  the  Carbonado  mines.  The  product  is  hauled  by  rail  from  the 
mines,  thirty  miles  distant  from  Tacoma,  run  into  the  great  coal  bunkers 
on  the  wharves  here,  and  run  thence  by  chutes  into  the  hold  of  the  com- 
pany’s ships,  which  are  daily  loading  here  at  this  port.  The  published 
claim  that  Washington  Territory  is  the  Pennsylvania  not  only  of  the 
Pacific  coast  but  of  the  Northwest,  is  no  idle  or  unwarranted  boast. 
Unough  has  already  been  discovered  and  developed  to  establish  this  claim. 
All  the  coal  fields  proper  have  been  found  west  of  the  Cascade  range,  and 
the  very  choicest  and  best  coking  and  gas  coals  have  been  found  and  are 
being  mined  in  this  (Pierce)  county,  of  which  Tacoma  is  the  county  seat. 
An  idea  of  the  importance  of  these  coal  mines  can  best  be  formed  in  the 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


77- 


statement  that  the  only  coal  ever  yet  found  west  of  the  Missouri  river 
that  will  coke  is  from  the  mines  immediately  tributary  to  this  city.  The 
analysis  of  the  coke  from  these  mines  proves  it  the  superior  of  the  Con- 
nellsville  (Pa.)  coke,  viz: 


Pierce  county  coke — carbon  60.67' 

Connellsville  coke — carbon  60.OO' 


ANOTHER  IMPORTANT  FACT. 

Another  very  important  fact  is  that  every  city  on  Puget  Sound  using 
gas  buys  this  Pierce  county  coal,  as  up  to  the  present  time  no  other  gas 
coal  on  this  sound  has  been  discovered.  The  coals  are  either  bituminous 
or  semi-bituminous,  and  while  all  bituminous  coals  do  not  make  coke, 
those  tested  here  have  made  a superior  coke.  In  other  words,  the  majority- 
of  the  mines  worked  in  this  county  furnish  the  bituminous  character  of 
coal,  while  in  adjacent  counties  the  mines  worked  furnish  lignite  coal.. 
The  classification  of  these  coals  in  their  adaptability  to  general  use  is  that 
the  lignite  is  admirable  for  steam  and  domestic  purposes,  while  the  Pierce 
county  bituminous  coal  is  excellent,  not  only  for  these  purposes,  but  also* 
for  gas,  forge  coal  and  coke,  thus  establishing  the  certainty  that  smelters 
or  reduction  works  must  find  lodgment  in  Tacoma.  All  the  elements,  viz  : 
lime,  coal,  coke  and  ore,  are  here  or  in  close  proximity  to  this  city.  The 
coal  measures  in  the  Puget  Sound  baisin  are  of  the  tertiary  formation.  In 
tracing  the  seams  of  coal,  disregarding  minor  irregularities,  it  is  found  they 
lie  in  a wide  trough  between  the  Cascade  and  Olympic  ranges.  The  * 
lignites  are  found  in  the  central  part  of  this  trough,  and  strata-graphicilly 
in  the  upper  series,  while  lower  down  in  the  series  true  coals,  or  those  re- 
sembling them  are  found.  A belief  prevails  that  the  tertiary  rocks  rest, 
unconformably  on  the  cretaceous,  and  are  separated  from  it  by  a lapse  of 
time  during  which  the  folding  of  the  older  beds  and  elevation  of  mountains 
took  place ; but  it  is  not  improbable  th^t  in  some  places  there  may  be: 
a more  or  less  complete  series  of  passage  beds  between  cretaceous  and  ter- 
tiary, as  occurs  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Rocky  mountains ; or  that 
there  may  even  be  two  unconformable  series  of  tertiary  rocks. 

THE  COAE  ANALYZED. 

An  analysis  of  the  coals  in  Pierce  and  adjacent  counties  is  here  given, 
from  which  the  reader  can  see  the  relative  value  of  each,  and  easily  deter- 
mine the  advantage  given  to  Tacoma  over  other  points,  by  the  superiority 
of  her  coal  for  manufacturing  purposes: 

Carbon  Hill  coal,  mined  at 'Carbonado,  Pierce  county;  Wingate  vein — 


Fixed  carbon 64.58 

Volatile,  combustible  matter  (carbonaceous)  28. 99 

Moisture  2.33 

Ash  '*'3-94 

Sulphur,  traces 16 


IOO.OQ 


7« 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


South  Prairie  coal,  Pierce  county — 

Fixed  carbon 

Volatile,  combustible  matter 

Moisture 

Ash  

Sulphur,  traces 


64.06 

28.06 
2.22 
5-52 

.14 


100.00 

Bucoda  lignite  coal,  Thurston  county — 


Fixed  carbon 49-75 

Volatile 35.40 

Moisture 12.55 

Ash 2.30 


Roslyn  mine,  east  of  the  Cascade  Range;  semi-bituminous  coal— 

Fixed  carbon 

Volatile 

Moisture 

Ash  

Sulphur  ...  


100.00 


59-31 

30.29 

3-35 

6-93 

.12' 


100.00 

These  analyses  clearly  establish  that  the  bituminous  coal  of  Pierce 
county,  which  is  to-day  the  best  coal  on  Puget  Sound — the  Wingate  vein 
at  the  head — is  far  suprior  to  all  other  coal  in  competition,  and  that  the 
Roslyn  coal,  which  is  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountain,  is  next  best,  and 
is  the  best  coal  on  that  side  as  far  as  known.  The  Thurston  county  lignite, 
but  little  remote  from  semi-bituminous,  is  the  superior  to  all  other  lignites 
on  this  coast,  as  it  does  not  exhibit  the  slightest  trace  of  sulphur. 

IN  SUCCESSFUL  OPERATION. 

The  following  are  the  coal  mines  now  in  successful  operation  near 
here.  The  majority  haul  their  products  by  rail  to  this  market,  and  ship 
all  surplus  not  consumed  in  Tacoma,  from  here,  viz: 

Carbonado  mines,  coking  coal,  owned  by  Central  Pacific  railway,  a 
mountain  of  coal  in  the  mine.  Output  30,000  tons  per  month. 

South  Prairie  mine,  gas  coal,  owned  by  San  Francisco  parties.  Out- 
put, 10,000  tons  per  month.  Among  the  best  in  this  market.  Present 
working  vein  about  four  feet.  Inexhaustible. 

Wilkeson  mines,  coking  coal.  - Working  three  veins,  five  feet,  six 
feet  and  eight  feet  thick.  Two  mines,  one  owned  by  Northern  Pacific,  and 
used  by  them;  one  owned  by  Tacoma  Coal  company.  Output,  4,000  tons 
each;  8,000  total. 

Bucoda  mines.  Owned  by  Messrs.  Buckley,  Coulter  & Davis,  Taco- 
ma. Output,  12,000  tons  per  month.  This  vein  is  six  feet  thick. 

The  above  four  mines  are  turning  out  60,000  tons  per  month,  which 
amount  will  be  rapidly  increased  hereafter.  At  this  time  they  carry  a 
total  pay  roll  of  750  men.  The  character  of  this  coal  has  but  recently 
become  known  away  from  home,  but  the  foreign  demand  is  constantly 
increasing.  With  the  completion  of  the  tunnel  under  the  Cascade  range, 
the  demand  for  this  coal  must  increase,  while  the  shipments  to  California 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


79 


are  steadily  increasing.  The  following  item  pertaining  to  coal  shipments 
is  taken  from  the  holiday  number  of  the  Daily  hedger  of  this  city,  and 
shows  the  extent  of  this  trade,  now  hardly  begun. 

There  were  251  coal  cargoes  shipped  during  the  year  from  Puget 
Sound  to  coastwise  ports,  amounting  to  520,520  tons,  valued  at  $2,602,- 
600.  The  freight  money  received  for  transportation  was  $1,301,300. 


VEINS  OF  IRON. 

Immense  Veins  of  Iron  Ore  found  in  the  Cascade  Range. — Hematite  and 

Magnetite  Inexhaustible. — Great  Iron  Works  Assured. 

The  existence  of  iron  ore  in  inexhaustible  quantities  in  and  around 
Cleelum  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Cascades,  as  well  as  on  the  west  side  of 
the  range,  has  long  been  known,  but  not  until  the  completion  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  to  Tacoma  has  the  discovery  received  the  attention  it 
deserves.  The  governor  of  this  territory,  in  his  official  report  to  the  sec- 
retary of  the  interior,  states  that  “it  is  an  established  fact  that  bog  iron 
ore  of  the  best  quality  exists  in  practically  exhaustless  quantities  through- 
out the  Puget  Sound  basin.  ’ ’ Its  exact  location  is  now  given — due  south 
and  running  parallel  to  the  Yakima  river;  three  miles  from  Cleelum  the 
iron  belt  commences,  and  runs  to  the  west  to  the  Cascade  mountains.  From 
twelve  to  fifteen  distinct  veins  are  now  uncovered,  the  veins  varying  in 
thickness  from  three  to -fifteen  feet.  This  belt  covers  about  twenty-five 
continuous  miles,  the  ore  of  this  section  generally  being  magnetic  ore.  The 
next  belt  is  up  the  Cleelum  river.  It  commences  about  twelve  miles  north 
of  Cleelum.  Here  is  a group  of  mines,  included  in  which  is  the  purchase 
of  a wealthy  syndicate.  This  syndicate  has  a representative  who  is  located 
in  Tacoma.  This  gentleman  is  an  experienced  man  in  iron  mining  and 
associated  with  him  are  gentlemen  equally  well  versed  in  the  reduction  of 
iron  ores.  They  have  secured  several  valuable  claims.  Their  intention 
is  to  erect  massive  iron  works  at  the  mines,  or  rather  to  remove  to  these 
mines  a two  million  dollar  plant  they  now  own  elsewhere.  L,et  the  reader 
be  assured  that  this  statement  is  an  absolute  fact,  which  can  be  substanti- 
ated by  addressing  the  chamber  of  commerce  of  this  city.  The  name  of 
this  company  and  its  officers  or  stockholders  and  superintendent  would  be 
given  but  for  th£  fact  that  the  publication  of  this  at  this  particular  time  will 
materially  prejudice  certain  pending  interests.  Suffice  to  say  that  the  name 
of  this  company  is  well  knoWn  in  this  country  and  abroad  and  it  represents 
a vast  capital.  The  Northern  Pacific  or  its  officers  can  furnish  the  requi- 
site information  to  those  seeking  the  facts  concerning  these  iron  works. 
When  pending  negotiations  are  consummated  these  works  will  be  estab- 
lished. The  Take  Superior  iron  belt  is  of  minor  import  to  the  importance 
of  these 


8o 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


VAST  IRON  FIELDS 

in  this  territory.  One  seam  or  vein,  next  adjacent  to  the  group  owned  by 
this  syndicate,  can  be  followed  as  uncovered  for  three  miles,  and  is  from 
30  to  96  feet  thick.  The  ore  in  both  of  these  properties — the  syndicate’s 
purchase  consisting  of  three  seams  or  veins,  each  of  which  will  average 
from  40  to  90  feet — is  both  hematite  and  magnetite,  principally  the  former.. 
An  old  experienced  miner  or  expert  declares  that  the  field  now  uncovered 
presents  the  largest  body  of  iron  ore  ever  seen  in  any  mine.  By  assa}^ 
these  ores  run  60  per  cent  of  metalic  iron,  and  are  practically  free  from  sul- 
phur and  phosphorus,  and  are  suitable  for  the  very  best  steel  or  Bessemer 
rails.  Between  the  two  properties  above  enumerated  is  still  another  dis- 
trict or  field;  it  lies  between  the  property  of  the  syndicate  and  Cleelum,, 
and  consists  of  three  distinct  veins  of  equal  thickness,  as  above.  In  the 
same  district,  magnificent  copper  mines  exist,  the  ore  being  known  as. 
peacock,  and  run  over  60  per  cent  in  copper.  Gold  and  silver  quartz 
lodes  are  not  far  distant  and  within  a radius  of  five  miles  from  the  group 
of  iron  mines  owned  by  the  syndicate  is  an  abundance  of  lime  rock,  sam- 
ples of  which  are  reported  as  assaying  90  per  cent  of  lime.  In  the  Sno- 
qualmie  pass,  a section  of  country  fourteen  miles  north  of  the  east  end  of 
the  “switchback,”  there  is  abundance  of  iron,  innumerable  veins;  also 
silver,  gold,  marble  and  lime  mines  and  quarries.  The  Northern  Pacific 
has  surveyed  a branch  railway  this  fourteen  miles,  it  being  through  a 
practically  level  route,  which,  upon  completion,  will  open  this  country  to 
immediate  manufacturing  occupancy.  As  though  nature  in  her  liberali- 
ty sought  to  omit  nothing,  there  is  found  at  a distance  of  but  two  miles 
from  one  of  the  Northern  Pacific  branches  an  excellent  quality  of  fire  clay. 
Coal  fields  abound  in  and  around  these  mines,  and  it  would  seem  that 
nothing  but  salt  was  lacking  to  furnish  all  the  component  parts  requisite 
in  the  reduction  of  these  various  ores.  The  distance  to  all  these  valuable 
mines  from  Tacoma  is  trivial.  Ere  a great  while  America  can  point  with 
pride  to  her  |Puget Sound  rails,  nails,  forgings,  sheets,  etc.,  and  as  the  gov- 
ernment proposes  to  fortify  her  Western  coast  and  establish  a Western 
naval  station,  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  she  should  utilize  some  of  the 
naval,  or  water  front  reservations  near  here — of  which  she  has  several — 
for  her  Western  navy  yard.  Here  she  could  build  her  guns  and  arma- 
ment cheaper  than  at  any  point  in  the  United  States. 


ALASKA  GOLD  MINES. 

Their  Entire  Yield  to  be  Reduced  at  Tacoma — Great  Reduction  Works 
Assured , with  a Capacity  of  Four  Hundred  Tons  per  Day. 

Ground  has  been  selected,  cleared  of  timber,  and  laid  out  for 
immense  smelters  or  reduction  works  at  Tacoma,  and  the  right  of  way  for 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


8l 


the  railway  secured.  The  road  is  contracted  for,  and  is  to  be  speedily 
built  to  these  works.  These  works  are  being  built  by  Dennis  Ryan  and 
others  of  St.  Paul  and  the  Bast.  The  necessity  for  the  erection  of  such 
works  has  been  apparent  to  the  Northern  Pacific  and  the  monied  interests 
of  the  city  for  some  time.  All  the  preliminaries  for  the  immense  plant 
had  been  nominally  arranged  last  year,  but  a temporary  delay  occurred  in 
the  right  of  way  through  the  land  of  the  immense  Tacoma  saw  mills  of 
Mr.  Hansen,  situated  on  the  lower  part  of  the  bay,  but  this  difficulty  has 
been  harmonized  and  the  work  begun,  both  for  the  short  strip  of  railway 
and  the  smelters  themselves.  The  location  of  these  big  mills  is  most  excel- 
lent. It  is  far  enough  away  from  the  city  to  free  it  from  objectionable 
sulphurous  smoke  incident  to  the  smelters  at  Butte,  and  the  grounds  are 
accessible  by  ships,  steamers  or  rail.  The  rapid  development  of  the  Coeur 
d’Alene  mines,  whose  ore  is  now  shipped  long  distances,  the  Salmon  river 
mines  and  copper,  silver  and  gold  fields  just  east  of  the  Cascades  next 
adjacent  to  the  big  iron  fields  near  Cleelum  (now  commenced  in  develop- 
ment and  owned  by  Tacoma  parties)  have  prompted  the  erection  of  this 
immense  smelter.  But  the  Alaska  mines  probably  have  had  a material 
influence  in  this  undertaking.  These  mines  have  immence  machinery 
already  located  near  Juneau,  and  old  experienced  miners  declare  the  ore 
unusually  rich  and  comparatively  easy  to  mine.  With  the  reduction 
works  completed  here,  the  entire  product  of  Alaska  will  be  sent  here. 
This  city  being  the  terminus  of  the  Alaska  steamers,  vessels  will  go  to 
Alaska  loaded  with  merchandise,  and  come  back  loaded  with  ore.  With- 
in the  past  three  weeks  an  immense  invoice  of  groceries  bought  here  from 
a large  wholesale  house  was  shipped  direct  to  Juneau,  Alaska,  showing 
the  possibilities  of  this  trade.  With  all  the  various  gold,  silver,  copper 
and  lead  mines  near  and  tributary  to  Tacoma,  the  wisdom  of  locating  the 
big  smelters  here  is  clearly  shown.  This  one  industry  will  contribute  to 
the  material  and  rapid  growth  of  this  city. 


SALMON  RIVER  MINKS. 


These  mines  are  east  and  north  of  the  Cascade  range — and  the  Yaki- 
ma, Kittitas  and  other  magnificent  agricultural  regions,  including  the  Big 
Bend  and  Palouse  country — all  find  an  outlet  or  market  via  Tacoma.  The 
Salmon  river  mines,  all  of  recent  discovery,  will  prove  the  richest  in  galena 
ores  of  any  mines  yet  discovered.  Several  hundred  claims  are  filed  in  this 
district,  and  a great  number  will  be  worked  from  this  on,  Tacoma  parties, 
a syndicate,  have  purchased  a fifty- ton  concentrator  which  will  be  erected 
at  their  mines  there,  and  it  is  estimated  that  fully  $500,000  in  machinery 
will  be  placed  in  this  new  mining  belt  within  the  next  twelve  months. 
All  this  ore  is  destined  for  Tacoma,  to  be  reduced  in  the  large  smelter  or 


82 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


reduction  works  in  this  city.  The  ores  from  these  mines  so  far  have  been 
transported  by  wagons  or  pack  mules  a distance  of  1 65  miles  to  the  nearest 
point  on  the  Northern  Pacific,  thence  shipped  by  rail  to  Denver,  Omaha^ 
San  Francisco  or  Wickes,  paying  this  enormous  freight  and  still  leaving  a 
handsome  profit.  The  value  of  these  mines  to  Tacoma  is  apparent  to  any 
one.  Tacoma  capital  has,  added  to  other  interests,  built  a steamer  at,  or 
near  Kllensburgh,  which  by  traversing  the  navigable  waters  to  these 
mines,  reduces  the  wagon  haul  to  a comparatively  short  distance.  The 
completion  of  the  railroad  now  projected  to  the  Salmon  River  country  will 
bring  the  entire  products  to  this  city,  it  being  the  nearest  point  to  reduc- 
tion works.  The  superabundance  of  coal,  coke,  lime  and  iron,  gives  these 
works  the  cheapest  possible  fluxes  for  the  smelting  and  reduction  to  bul- 
lion of  these  new  and  rich  mines. 

freight  receipts. 

The  average  number  of  freight  trains  arriving  daily  in  Tacoma  is  ten; 
this  excludes  Sunday.  Of  the  number  three  are  coal  trains,  which  haul  a 
daily  average  of  120  cars  of  coal  to  the  bunkers  at  the  wharf.  The  other 
sey^ji  trains  bring  in  105  loaded  cars,  this  being  the  daily  average  since 
Jan.  1,  1888,  and  up  to  March  27,  the  date  these  figures  were  secured. 
The  grand  total  of  loaded  cars  received  here  in  the  eighty-seven  days  is 
7,770,  carrying  116,550  tons  of  freight,  or  an  average  of  1,575  tons  Per 
diem.  These  figures  are  about  double  those  of  one  year  ago,  and  present 
indications  point  to  a doubled  increase  for  the  coming  year.  All  this 
freight,  the  passenger  trains  and  all  of  the  shipping  is  done  under  the  hill 
along  the  shores  of  the  bay,  and  entirely  out  of  sight  of  people  on  the 
streets.  Tacoma  to  be  seen  in  its  greatness  must  be  viewed  at  the  wharves 
and  depot. 

A SHIPPING  POINT. 

Tacoma  is  the  shipping  point  from  which  Vancouver  Island  receives 
its  main  supply  of  live  stock,  and  at  its  stock  yards  there  pass  every  week 
for  shipment  to  British  Columbia  and  Seattle  eight  car  loads  or  144  head 
of  cattle,  and  twenty  car  loads  or  1,600  sheep  and  a few  hogs.  In  addi- 
tion, there  is  an  average  of  100  head  of  horses  per  week  which  pass  through 
the  city.  The  local  consumption  of  live  stock  in  Tacoma  and  sales  ag- 
gregates 150  head  of  cattle,  300  sheep  and  seventy-five  hogs,  besides  about 
thirty  calves,  and  this  number  is  daily  increasing. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


83 


\ 

Yield  of  the  Forests. 


Ere  Long  Over  a Million  Feet  of  Lumber  Will  be  Sawed  Each  Day  in 
Tacoma. — Two  Massive  Mills  Now  in  Course  of  Construction  and 
Five  Already  on  the  Ground. — A Phenomenal  Building  Record  for  188 7, 
Which  will  be  Doubled  the  Coming  Year. — Excellent  Schools  and 
Newspapers , Sure  Signs  of  the  Character  of  a Community. — An  Im- 
mense Wholesale  and  Retail  Trade. — Hotel  Accommodations  Nowhere 
Better. — Lumber  Trade. — Something  as  to  the  Oldest  and  Greatest 
Bidustry  in  Tacoma. — An  Immense  Daily  Cut  Soon  to  be  Quadrupled. 


TACOMA,  W.  T.  special  Correspondent,  Pioneer  Press,  April  9. — Two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  feet  of  lumber  sawed  each  working  day  in 
1887  is  the  exact  average  of  one  mill  here — the  Tacoma.  There  are  four 
other  mills  here  now,  or  immediately  tributary,  and  two  massive  mills  in 
course  of  construction.  One  of  these  mills  has  purchased  twenty-five  acres 
for  its  mill  site.  This  is  the  Pacific  Mill  company,  with  an  actual  capital 
of  a half  million  dollars,  its  president  being  I.  R.  McDonald,  of  Seattle. 
Mr.  Hanson  is  the  sole  owner  of  the  Tacoma  mill.  The  last  named  mill 
has  lately  been  running  day  times  and  with  a half  force  at  night  and  em- 
ploying a total  of  about  three  hundred  hands.  The  last  week  in  March 
this  mill  cut  2,100,000  feet  of  lumber.  During  1887,  in  addition  to  its  cut 
of  regular  lumber,  it  also  cut  16,000,000  feet  of  lath,  310,000  feet  of  pickets. 
The  sawdust  and  waste  of  this  mill  is  burned  continuously  in  an  immense 
tall  and  large  brick  furnace  or  kiln,  and  if  this  waste  was  measured  into 
cord  wood  would  equal  one  hundred  cords  per  day.  The  actual  daily  ex- 
pense of  running  this  mill  alone,  not  including  loggers,  as  stated  by  its 
proprietor,  is  $3,000  per  day.  He  built  this  mill  at  an  early  day,  it  then 
being  the  only  mill  on  this  whole  sound,  except  one  small  portable  con- 
cern several  miles  from  here.  As  an  experiment  recently  this  mill  cut 
against  the  biggest  record  of  any  mill  on  this  coast.  It  ran  ten  and  one- 
half  hours  and  turned  out  on  this  occasion  417,000  feet  of  lumber.  The 
daily  cut  in  lath  is  800  bundles,  or  80,000  lath.  Where  does  such  a mill 
sell  its  products  ? The  answer  would  be  plain  to  those  here  by  seeing  the 
number  of  ships  daily  loading  at  this  saw  mill’s  wharf,  averaging  eight 
vessels.  The  proprietor  owns  five  sailing  vessels  himself,  and  but  recently 
bought  a ship  (costing  to  build  $57,000)  with  capacity  of  1,500,000  feet 
per  cargo.  Its  market  is  coastwise  ports,  Australia,  South  America,  etc. 
It  could  ship  lumber  to  China  at  less  expense  than  any  other  point  on 
Puget  Sound,  for  China  is  several  hundred  miles  nearer  here  than  it  is 
from  San  Francisco.  The  logs  for  these  enormous  mills  (this  one  running 
in  adjacent  frames,  two  gang  saw  mills  with  thirty-three  saws  to  each 


84 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


gang)  come  from  all  over  the  sound,  from  lands  owned  by  the  proprietor 
and  other  parties,  and  these  are  towed  to  the  mill  boom  by  steamers  and 
tugs  also  the  property  of  Mr.  Hanson.  It  is  safe  to  predict  that  within  a 
year  the  daily  cut  of  lumber  at  Tacoma  will  equal  1,000,000  feet.  This 
industry  is  one  of  the  corner  stones  of  Tacoma’s  coming  greatness.  Here 
is  one  of  what  will  eventually  be  a dozen  mills,  this  one  employing  in  the 
mill  300  men,  aside  from  its  400  or  500  employees  aboard  vessels  and  in 
logging  camps.  At  the  ratio  of  the  past  increase,  with  the  completion  of 
the  two  big  mills  to  be  erected  here  in  1888,  the  total  pay-roll  list  in  the 
lumber  interests  of  Tacoma  will  crowd  well  up  to  5,000  men  in  all  of  its 
branches. 


PHENOMENAL  BUILDING. 


Record  of  Building  in  Tacoma  for  1887. — A Grand  Record  Which  Will 
be  Surpassed  the  Coming  Year. 


During  1887  there  were  erected  in  this  city  350  buildings,  of  which 
sixty-seven  were  business  houses,  many  of  the  latter  being  the  elegant 
business  blocks  now  seen  on  these  streets.  There  were  also  three  new 
school  buildings,  two  new  churches,  five  hose  houses  and  450  feet  of  wheat 
warehouses,  nine  buildings  in  all.  The  total  cost  of  these  buildings  ag- 
gregates $869,583. 15.  The  number  given  and  the  cost  of  the  same  is  under 
the  estimate,  and  in  round  numbers  it  is  safe  to  say  that  $1,000,000  was 
expended  here,  and  that  it  erected  four  hundred  buildings.  The  building 
season  has  not  fairly  set  in  for  1888,  but  the  contractors  and  archi- 
tects report  that  if  not  another  building  is  contracted  for  this  year 
the  number  already  either  under  process  of  completion  or  arranged 
for  will  cost  over  a million  dollars.  The  list  for  1888  to  date  em- 
braces eighty  new  business  houses  or  blocks  and  350  new  dwellings.  A 
$4,000  addition  to  the  East  school  building  is  among  the  new  enterprises, 
as  also  new  churches  costing  $20,000,  and  the  Methodist  University  to  be 
built  this  year  involves  an  eventual  cost  of  $75,000.  The  exact  figures 
even  as  covering  existing  contracts  in  new  buildings  up  to  April  1 , in 
Tacoma  is  $1,064,000.  Nothing  but  shortage  in  mechanical  labor  and 
building  materials  (and  that  only  brick,  all  other  in  superabundance)  will 
defeat  the  erection  of  650  to  700  new  buildings,  and  the  expenditure  of 
$1,500,000  in  1888.  Building  in  Tacoma  costs  less  than  at  most  any 
point  in  the  Northwest,  or  more  properl}''  stated,  at  no  point  can  frame 
buildings  be  erected  as  cheaply  as  here.  The  following  market  reports 
are  clipped  from  the  daily  Ledger  in  this  city : 

Building  Material — In  great  demand.  Cement,  $4.50  per  bbl;  plaster, 
$3.75  per  bbl;  hair,  $1.50  per  sack;  lime,  $1.75®  1.80  per  bbl. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


85 


Dumber — Market  very  firm.  Rough  common,  per  M,  $11;  rough 
common  sized,  per  M,  $12;  flooring,  1x4,  No.  1,  perM,  $20;  flooring,  1x4, 
No.  2,  per  M,  $15;  flooring,  1x6,  No.  1,  per  M,  $18;  flooring,  1x6,  No.  2, 
per  M,  $15:  dressed  lumber,  is,  per  M,  $16;  dressed  lumber,  4s,  per  M, 
$20;  for  rustic  No.  1,  per  M,  $18;  rustic,  No.  2,  per  M,  $15;  dressed  clear 
cedar,  per  M,  $30;  clear  cedar,  No.  is,  $30;  No.  2s,  $20;  door  jambs, 
pulley  styles,  etc.,  per  M,  $22.50;  pickets,  1^x1^,  3 and  NA  feet,  each, 
i^c;  flat  pickets,  ix^,  dressed,  each,  i^c;  gutter,  3x4,  per  foot,  7c; 
gutter,  4x6,  per  foot,  9c;  mouldings,  inch  and  under,  per  foot,  ic; 
mouldings,  1 % inch  and  up,  ^ c;  laths,  $2.35;  laths,  i$4,  $2.50; 

shingles,  No.  1,  per  M,  $2.35;  shingles,  No.  2,  per  M,  $1.65. 


fruit  growing. 


No  Fruits  Grown  in  Other  Regions  Can  Compare  With  Those  of  Wash- 
ington in  Quality , Size  and  Abundance  of  Yield. — Some  Surprises. 


Such  fruit  no  country  ever  raised.  Better  apples,  pears,  plums,  prunes, 
blackberries,  gooseberries,  currants,  cherries,  are  grown  nowhere.  But 
above  all  else  give  us  this  territory  for  strawberries  and  melons.  Think 
of  growing  four  tons  of  strawberries  to  the  acre.  You  do  not  believe  it! 
Suppose  you  write  J.  W.  Blackwell  at  Tacoma.  This  gentleman  has 
lived  in  California  and  Oregon,  and  for  four  years  has  resided  on  the  up- 
lands, three  miles  south  of  this  city.  He  realized  seven  cents  per  pound 
for  his  berries,  grows  all  varieties — Wilson’s  and  Albany s — his  profitable 
kind  being  the  Jumbo’s.  He  has  an  acre  and  a quarter  in  strawberries 
which  bloomed  three  weeks  ago.  If  frost  should  destroy  the  bloom,  the 
berries  rebloom  afterwards.  Picking  for  the  market  commences  about 
May  25,  and  continues  until  about  July  1.  Samples  of  strawberries  pre- 
served in  jars  seen  here  justify  the  report  of  enormous  sized  ones,  for  it  is 
said  that  this  market  has  seen  home-grown  ones  so  large  that  two  or  three 
berries  would  fill  the  ordinary  box,  or  four  berries  would  weigh  a pound. 
That  they  grow  to  perfection  in  size  and  flavor  is  beyond  dispute.  This 
climate  and  soil  is  conspicuously  excellent  in  producing  plums  and  prunes. 
It  may  not  appear  natural  to  a Minnesota  or  Dakota  man,  but  it  is  delight- 
fully refreshing  to  see  fruit  trees  in  full  bloom,  as  they  are  now,  bursting 
out.  A.  N.  Miller,  of  Puyallup,  Pierce  county,  Wash.,  has  been  here 
since  i860.  He  raises  twenty-five  varieties  of  apples,  the  same  varieties, 
generally,  as  he  grew  or  saw  grown  in  New  York  before  coming  here.  He 
declares  this  yield  to  be  much  greater,  'more  certain  and  to  keep  better  than 
Eastern  apples.  Be  that  as  it  may,  he  furnishes  the  hotel  now  with  apples 
that  he  has  carried  through  the  winter,  and  no  finer  flavored  or  sounder 
apples  can  be  found.  This  gentleman  raises  every  variety  of  fruit;  and 
states  he  is  less  troubled  with  fruit  pests  here  than  in  the  East.  It  is  folly 
to  deny  the  pre-eminently  successful  raising  of  fruit  in  this  country.  The 


86 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  choicest  canned  fruits  will  come  from  Wash- 
ington Territory.  The  growth  of  trees  here  is  very  rapid  and  they  yield 
at  two  to  three  years  old,  the  only  difficulty  being  the  profusion  of  yield. 
All  the  young  fruit  trees  here  must  be  propped  or  the  limbs  will  break  off 
with  their  own  fruitful  weight.  Nothing  pays  better  here  so  far  than  fruit 
raising,  while  prunes  from  Puget  Sound,  when  grown  in  quantities  for  the 
market,  will  prove  the  choicest  known.  Some  portions  of  the  coast  raise 
peaches  and  grapes — in  fact  anything  but  tropical  fruit — while  the  Yakima 
valley  raises  tobacco  of  superior  quality,  the  yield  being  at  the  rate  of  1,000 
pounds  per  acre.  Parties  there  are  going  into  tobacco  raising  as  a busi- 
ness. The  nearest  perfection  in  all  things,  weather,  products,  people, 
cheapness  in  living,  rapidity  of  making  money  and  health,  is  Washington 
Territory.  Ere  long  all  America  will  admit  this. 


INTO  THE  MILLIONS. 


An  Immense  Wholesale  and  Retail  Trade  Enjoyed  by  Tacoma. — Chances 
for  Those  With  Capital. — Gratifying  Growth. 


The  business  of  Tacoma  for  the  year  ending  March  31,  1888,  was 
very  encouraging,  and  the  outlook  is  for  fully  double  that  amount  the  com- 
ing year.  The  following  figures  give  an  estimate,  as  nearly  as  can  be 
made,  of  the  total  amount  of  business  transacted  by  Tacoma  merchants 
during  the  year  above  mentioned.  The  estimate  is  a conservative  one, 
based  on  the  experience  of  the  best  business  men  of  the  city,  and  is  be- 
lieved to  be  considerably  within  the  amount  rather  than  above.  In  every 
case  merchants  claim  that  their  business  for  the  first  three  months  of  1888, 
is  fully  double  that  of  the  first  three  months  of  1887,  and  in  many  cases  it 
has  quadrupled.  All  branches  of  business  are  represented  except  lumber, 
coal  and  banking,  and  the  sum  total  of  the  retail  sales  of  this  city  for  the 
twelve  months,  from  March,  1887,  to  March,  1888,  as  taken  from  dealers 
themselves  figure  up  $7,363,000.  The  retail  figures  do  not  include  any 
wholesale  trade.  There  is  an  exclusive  wholesale  grocery,  wholesale  paper, 
and  nearly  every  line  has  a jobbing  department  included  under  the  retail 
roof.  The  grocery  house,  although  but  recently  established,  is  selling  at 
the  rate  of  half  a million  per  annum.  At  no  point  on  this  coast,  or  in  the 
Northwest,  is  there  a better  or  more  extended  field  for  exclusive  wholesale 
dealers.  New  towns  are  springing  up  all  around.  The  mining  Camps  of 
the  territory,  the  fast-developing  Alaska  (this  city  being  the  terminus  of 
this  line  of  steamers)  and  the  great  influx  of  emigration — 4,500  new  citizens 
coming  to  Washington  Territory  in  March  alone — will  make  Tacoma  an 
immense  distributing  point.  The  reader  must  remember  that  railway  con- 
nection with  the  East  was  but  recently  completed  here.  He  must  also 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


87 


¥ '' 

remember  that  the  new  tunnel  does  away  with  climbing  over  a great 
mountain,  which  lessens  freight  expenses.  The  men  coming  here  with 
capital  enough  to  carry  good  wholesale  stocks  are  absolutely  certain  of 
rapidly  building  up  a magnificent  and  permanent  trade  to  a constituency 
that  is  surer  and  better  pay  than  older  countries.  Here  is  a splendid 
point  at  this  moment  for  a wholesale  queensware  store — or  retail  for  that 
matter — and  the  same  in  a shelf  hardware  trade,  including  heavy  hard- 
ware. Let  the  man  seeking  a location  correspond  with  the  chamber  of 
commerce  here,  or  come  out  himself  and  talk  with  the  people.  These 
merchants  are  broadgauged,  wide-awake  men.  No  “hide-bound”  men 
live  here.  They  will  welcome  reputable  dealers  with  means — and  only 
such  merchants  should  come  here. 


SHINGLE  MILLS. 


A Number  of  Them  Scattered  Through  the  Woods,  and  Many  More  to 

be  Erected. 


The  lumber  mills  referred  to  in  another  arcticle  are  exclusive  of  shingle 
mills,  a good  number  of  which  are  now  scattered  through  the  woods,  and 
more  are  to  be  erected.  These  mills  make  cedar  shingles,  the  durability 
of  which  is  known  to  all.  Some  of  the  buildings  erected  in  the  town  of 
Steilacoom  in  1842  were  covered  with  cedar  “shakes,”  and  some  of  these 
“shakes”  are  still  in  existence,  weather  worn,  but  sound  as  ever,  the 
writer  having  seen  and  handled  one  that  is  preserved  by  a gentleman  here 
to  show  the  durability  of  cedar  shingles.  These  shingles  are  in  great  de- 
mand, which  keeps  beyond  supply  and  they  are  shipped  to  Illinois,  Indiana, 
Ohio  and  Pennsylvania;  in  fact  throughout  the  East.  One  of  the  largest 
lumber  firms  in  Chicago  had  a representative  here  within  one  month  seek- 
ing to  buy  the  entire  products  of  the  .shingle  mills  around  Tacoma.  A 
New  York  commission  and  ship  lumber  merchant  spent  two  days  in 
Tacoma  recently.  He  has  been  handling  ship  lumber  manufactured  by 
Mr.  Hanson,  and  came  in  quest  of  more.  Two  ship  loads  of  spars,  finished 
and  ready  for  use,  were  shipped  lately  to  ship  builders  at  Bath,  Me. ; also 
to  Boston  and  all  kinds  of  ship  lumber  are  sent  from  here  to  ship-building 
ports  all  over  the  United  States.  The  longest  piece  of  timber  ever  cut 
and  finished  without  knot  or  flaw  in  the  Tacoma  mill  was  a 24X24-inch 
square  timber  that  measured  125  running  or  continuous  feet.  The  Blakely 
mill,  before  it  burnt  down,  sawed  one  piece,  24x24^2  inches  square,  15 1 
feet  long,  free  from  knots.  This  enormous  length  timber  is  now  in  the 
Mechanical  institute  in  San  Francisco  on  exhibition.  As  to  the  size  of 
the  logs  in  these  forests  reports  state  some  very  large  and  long  straight 
trees  grow  here.  The  “boom  ” at  the  mill  has  several  logs  on  hand,  seven 


88 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


feet  in  diameter  at  the  butt.  A shipment  by  car  load  lots  has  been 
made  to  the  Pullman  Car  works  at  Pullman,  111.,  being  principally 
cedar.  No  prettier  colored  or  more  uniform  or  attractive  grained  cedar 
is  found  than  the  trees  cut  on  Puget  Sound.  The  result  of  the 
beauty  and  desirability  of  this  superior  finishing  wood  is  that  a con- 
stantly increasing  demand  from  all  parts  of  America  continues,  be- 
sidesthe  demand  from  seaport  markets.  The  average  yield  per  acre  of 
timber  is  given  by  experts  at  30,000  feet.  The  trees  growing  in  Wash- 
ington are  fir,  pine,  cedar,  spruce,  hemlock,  larch,  some  white  oak, 
maple,  ash,  cottonwood,  with  other  varieties.  It  is  not  a difficult 
task  to  find  fir  trees  250  feet  high,  pine  150  and  white  cedar  100. 

THE  TACOMA  PRESS. 

A true  index  to  the  character  of  a community  is  shown  in  its  news- 
papers, and  nothing  so  thoroughly  convinces  a stranger  of  the  true  status 
of  the  town  he  visit*,  as  the  columns  of  the  local  press.  Here  is  a city 
with  15,000  population  which  supports  two  daily,  three  weekly  and  one 
monthly  paper.  In  addition  there  is  a real  estate  advertising  paper,  a 
daily  issue  of  mortgages,  deeds,  etc.,  a theatrical  issue — all  doing  well. 
The  Daily  Eedger  is  an  eight-page  forty-eight  column  Republican  paper, 
which  prints  a full  daily  report  from  the  associated  press.  Its  columns, 
filled  with  “ads,”  bespeak  its  popularity  and  success.  Its  editorials  are 
forcible  and  effective  and  its  loyalty  to  Tacoma  commands  the  admiration 
and  respect  of  this  people.  The  News,  an  evening  four-page  paper,  is  well 
patronized,  ably  edited  and  newsy,  representing  in  politics  the  present  ad- 
ministration. This  journal  is  well  patronized,  its  columns  representing  a 
line  of  active  and  aggressive  dealers.  Both  papers  are  a credit  to  the  city, 
and  each  contributes  in  no  small  degree  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of 
Tacoma.  The  visitor  in  this  city  is  forcibly  impressed  with  the  possible 
future  of  the  city,  for  these  two  papers  constantly  set  forth  Tacoma’s  many 
advantages  and  do  this  in  a conservative  way.  The  Northwest  Horti- 
culturist, a weekly  journal,  is  doing  lasting  work  for  Tacoma  and  the  ter- 
ritory in  educating  farmers  to  a proper  cultivation  of  the  farm,  garden  and 
orchard.  There  is  also  the  Tacoma  World,  a live  weekly,  devoted  to  social 
and  local  matter. 

ANNIE  WRIGHT  SEMINARY. 

The  existence  of  the  Annie  Wright  seminary  lessens  the  terror  of  the 
thought  of  being  2,000  miles  away  trom  Eastern  schools.  This  seminary 
would  be  a credit  to  any  city  in  America,  as  its  faculty  consists  of  instruc- 
tors eminently  fitted  for  their  profession  and  possessing  the  experience  of 
association  with  Vassar  and  other  prominent  institutions.  The  Annie 
Wright  seminary  is  an  institution  for  the  education  of  young  ladies.  Its 
location  is  in  the  midst  of  the  better  homes  of  Tacoma,  and  is  both  com- 
manding and  attractive.  The  very  finest  view  of  the  city  mountains  and 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


89 


bay  is  secured  from  the  magnificent  seminary  building.  Its  scholars  are 
from  Montana,  Idaho,  California,  Oregon  and  this  territory.  This  institu- 
tion is  under  the  supervision  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  is  the  just 
pride  of  this  community.  This  building  and  St.  Euke’s  Memorial  church 
(Episcopal)  are  memorial  buildings,  the  first  named  after  and  the  second 
dedicated  in  memory  of  Annie  Wright,  the  deceased  daughter  of  Charles 
B.  Wright,  of  Philadelphia.  To  Mr.  Wright  this  city  is  most  deeply  in- 
debted. He  has  been  a working  and  distinguished  director  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  railway,  and  to  him  more  than  any  other  officer,  director  or 
stockholder  is  this  road  and  the  whole  country  indebted.  When  others 
faltered,  wearied  or  were  doubltful  he  was  loyal  in  heart  and  ready  with 
money.  He  has  made  the  occupancy  of  this  country  possible,  and  it  seems 
fitting  that  the  memorial  structures  which  he  has  built  here  should  be  re- 
vered. Tacoma  honors  itself  in  honoring  Mr.  Wright. 

EXCELLENT  SCHOOLS. 

Few  cities  have  better  schools  and  school  buildings  than  Tacoma. 
There  are  six  substantial  buildings  owned  by  the  two  school  districts, 
which  cost  in  all  about  $66,000,  exclusive  of  the  sites,  which  are  valued 
at  as  much  more.  In  every  case  the  sites  are  at  least  120x300  feet,  and 
most  of  them  are  double  that  size.  The  Central  school  occupies  a com- 
manding site  between  G street  and  Yakima  avenue,  and  cost  $24,000.  In 
1887  there  was  a total  number  of  1,250  pupils  enrolled  in  the  public  schools 
of  the  city;  this  year  there  is  a total  of  1575.  In  1887  there  were  twenty- 
three  teachers  employed  besides  the  principal;  this  year  there  are  twenty- 
five  teachers  in  addition  to  the  principal.  The  increase  of  scholars  varies 
from  60  to  no  per  month,  at  which  rate  there  will  be  an  increase  of  nearly 
one  thousand  before  the  year  closes.  In  point  of  ability  the  teachers  will 
compare  favorably  with  those  of  any  city  in  the  East,  and  most  of  them 
are  graduates  of  either  a normal  school  or  of  a creditable  college  in  the 
Eastern  or  adjoining  states. 

HOTEL  ACCOMMODATIONS. 

If  all  the  cities  along  the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  could  induce  the 
road  to  build  hotels  and  pattern  them  after  the  Tacoma  hotel  here,  then 
indeed  would  the  West  have  the  finest  hotels  in  America.  One  of  the 
blessings  to  Tacoma- — if  not  chief  and  important  factor  in  its  growth — is 
the  hotel  built  here  by  the  Northern  Pacific,  costing  $250,000.  It  is  pat- 
terned after  the  Hotel  Del  Monte  at  Monterey,  Cal. , and  is  furnished  lux- 
uriously. So  home-like  and  comparatively  inexpensive  is  this  hotel  that 
hundreds  of  travelers  through  California  and  Mexico,  those  coming  in 
from  the  East  and  residents  of  Oregon  and  California,  come  here  for  rest, 
climate  and  recreation,  as  well  as  for  the  salt  breezes  of  the  bay.  This 
cozy  hotel  has  been  the  means  of  bringing  many  a dollar  here  for  invest- 
ment, and  it  will  contribute  as  a future  factor  in  the  development  of  this 


9o 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


city.  Nor  is  this  the  only  hotel  here,  for  the  Central  and  Western  are 
good  houses,  and  seventeen  more  hotels  are  here,  a total  of  twenty  hotels. 
The  number  being  insufficient,  other  good  hotels  are  going  up.  Two  will 
soon  be  completed,  so  travelers  need  not  fear  that  they  will  be  out  in  the 
cold.  There  are  accommodations  now  here,  if  crowded,  for  1,200  guests 
per  day.  The  need  of  this  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  the  total  arrivals  here 
now,  via  steamers  and  cars,  run  up  to  the  enormous  figures  of  9,006  people 
per  month.  These  figures  are  arrived  at  by  the  records  of  the  steamboat 
officers  and  railway  passenger  departments,  including  the  hotel  registers. 
The  local  chamber  of  commerce,  anticipating  the  rush  of  immigration  have 
joined  the  Northern  Pacific  railway  in  the  construction  of  temporary 
quarters  for  those  coming  here  and  finding  the  hotels  full.  This  building 
is  a long  one,  with  a hall  its  entire  length,  each  side  thereof  being  neat 
little  rooms  with  bunks,  the  whole  patterned  after  the  Pullman  sleeper.  At 
one  end  of  the  building  is  the  wash  room,  with  hydrant  attachment  to  the 
city  water  works.  The  dining  room  is  at  the  other  end.  This  new  build- 
ing will  prove  a blessing  to  many  coming  here,  as  it  will  afford  shelter  and 
a temporary  stopping  place  while  people  are  looking  for  a permanent  home. 
The  chamber  of  commerce  here  has  outstripped  all  other  towns,  as  this  new 
building  is  the  neatest,  most  handy  and  best  ever  put  up  for  the  purpose 
on  the  Northern  Pacific  or  by  any  one  else. 

HOPS. 

A prairie  farmer,  who  has  been  accustomed  to  look  from  the  door  of 
his  home  over  waving  fields  of  growing  grain,  will,  if  he  comes  here,  ex- 
press his  pity  in  tones  of  tenderness  for  the  poor  farmer  who  is  grubbing 
out  a ten-acre  patch  in  Western  Washington.  He  will  inwardly  thank 
fortune  that  he  is  not  compelled  to  support  his  family  ou  a ten-acre  farm. 
What  a waste  of  pity  this  is ! Here  is  a clear  case  to  exemplify  the  ignor- 
ance of  the  prairie  farmer.  J.  P.  Stewart  lives  at  Puyallup  up  in  the  valley 
of  this  name,  ten  miles  from  Tacoma.  He  has  resided  here  since  1855  or 
thereabouts.  For  sixteen  consecutive  years  he  has  raised  hops  off  the 
same  land.  His  yield  has  averaged  him  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  while 
some  yields  have  been  as  high  as  2,000  pounds.  His  average  price  per 
pound  in  that  sixteen  years  has  been  2 1 cents,  and  his  profit  has  been 
about  or  near  $200  per  acre.  This  one  experience  is  the  prime  or  possibly 
best  of  all,  yet  it  shows  how  care  and  good  farming  will  pay.  E.  Meeker, 
of  Puyallup,  is  not  only  a practical  grower  like  Mr.  Stewart,  but  is  an  able 
writer  on  agricultural  topics.  He  makes  an  estimate,  based  upon  the  ex- 
perience of  eleven  consecutive  years,  the  price  averaging  19.30  cents  per 
pound,  with  the  net  annual  profit  of  $100  per  acre.  The  picking  of  hops  in 
this  county  is  done  partly  by  Indians.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  they  prove 
the  very  best  hands.  Their  aptitude  to  the  work  superinduced  by  their 
search  for  wild  fruits  has  made  them  adepts  at  hop  picking,  while  rain  or 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


9 


storms  in  nowise  deter  them.  In  this  connection  it  will  do  here  to  state 
that  no  Chinese  are  employed  in  or  around  Tacoma,  and  no  competition 
to  white  labor  exists  save  in  that  of  the  Indians,  who  are  civilized  and 
thrifty.  The  ground  or  land  employed  in  hop  raising  is  chiefly  timber 
land.  That  it  is  expensive  land  is  shown  from  the  returns  it  bears.  The 
young  man  of  pluck  and  a little  means,  whq  will  come  here,  shed  his  coat 
and  work  clearing  his  land  can  make  more  money  in  hops,  fruits  and  veg- 
etables off  of  a twenty  acre  field  than  he  will  average  off  of  320  acres  wheat 
lands.  The  truth  of  this  statement  is  everywhere  apparent  in  this  country. 
This  coast  has  many  cities  and  if  none  but  Tacoma  grows  it  alone  will  use 
the  products  of  hundreds  of  farms,  for  its  population  will  be  100,000  ere 
ten  years. 

READ  ESTATE  TRANSFERS. 

During  the  first  seventy- two  days  of  this  year,  ending  March  27, 
there  were  entered  for  record  in  the  office  of  the  auditor  of  Pierce  county, 
1,965  instruments,  of  which  1,186  were  deeds  for  land.  The  considera- 
tions named  for  these  deeds  amount  to  $1,942,013.20,  showing  an  average 
per  day  of  16%  deeds,  and  of  considerations  amounting  to  $31,139.  The 
average  amount  of  the  consideration  named  in  each  deed  recorded  during 
the  year  was  a little  over  $1,654.  The  tardiness  of  non-resident  property 
owners  augments  the  number  on  the  tax  sale  list,  but  the  list  is  very  small 
compared  to  cities  to  the  east  of  Tacoma.  An  excellent  showing  is  made 
by  the  sheriff  records.  There  has  been  but  one  foreclosure  of  mortgage  on 
real  estate  in  over  a year,  and  but  three  chattel  mortgage  foreclosures  in 
same  time.  Of  the  latter  a less  number  are  recorded  in  this  (Pierce) 
county  than  in  the  counties  in  Minnesota  or  Dakota.  Sales  of  real  estate 
involve  actual  cash  and  not  credit.  Property  in  this  country  cannot  be 
bought  at  one-fourth  or  one-third  down,  balance  in  one  to  five  years,  but 
it  usually  commands  all  cash,  or  over  half  cash  in  city  property.  This 
feature  is  a healthy  sign  of  the  times,  and  proves  there  is  no  boom  or  in- 
flation here. 

NOT  SALOON-RIDDEN. 

The  freedom  from  the  influence  of  the  liquor  traffic  in  Tacoma  is  one 
of  the  noticeable  and  encouraging  signs.  Here  are  congregated  the  ship- 
ping or  sailor  element,  with  the  local  stevedore,  the  transient  western  man 
— that  migratory  element  (but  none  of  the  cowboy  species,)  and  added  to 
these  is  the  general  transient  traveling  public — all  elements  calculate  to 
stimulate  the  liquor  traffic  to  a marked  degree.  But  in  no  city  in  the  west, 
regardless  of  size,  unless  in  prohibition  states  and  territories,  is  the  liquor 
traffic  apparently  under  such  complete  control.  Every  other  door  is  not  a 
saloon,  neither  does  the  saloon  invade  the  best  blocks  or  business  centers. 
There  is  an  occasional  saloon  on  the  main  thoroughfare,  but  the  saloon 
business  seems  to  be  regulated  chiefly  to  a block  by  itself,  and  it  seems 


92 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


evident  that  the  saloon  interest  has  no  deep  control  in  local  affairs.  This 
may  be  accounted  for  by  a wholesome  dread  this  trade  has  of  this  busin  ess 
like,  self-possessed  and  morally  inclined  population,  or  because  the  dealers 
here  are  of  the  very  best  class  of  men  and  possessed  of  sagacity  enough  to 
know  that  leaving  well  enough  alone  without  intruding  on  better  localities 
is  their  best  safeguard  against  annihilation.  No  studied  effort  on  the  part 
of  this  people  has  produced  this  excellent  state  of  affairs,  but  the  prestige 
of  an  established  commercial  center,  as  secured  through  the  business  pru- 
dence and  wisdom  of  a superior  commercial  people,  now  here,  seems  to 
have  assured  to  them  a perfect  freedom  from  an  offensive  saloon  promi- 
nence in  public  and  general  affairs. 

A CONSPICUOUS  STRUCTURE. 

The  new  headquarters  of  the  Northern  Pacific  in  this  city  is  a most 
imposing  and  magnificent  structure.  It  is  on  Pacific  avenue,  standing 
just  above  the  company’s  wharves,  depot  and  freight  buildings,  and  on  a 
site  overlooking  the  bay.  This  building  will  be  ready  for  occupancy  in  a 
short  time.  The  erection  of  this  building  at  the  terminus  of  the  road,  is 
further  evidence  of  the  interest  the  company  takes  in  this  city.-  A further 
guarantee  of  this  interest  and  their  intent  to  foster  Tacoma,  is  the  fact  that 
they  will  speedily  erect  their  largest  machine,  car  wheel,  repair  shops, 
round  houses,  etc.,  built  anywhere  along  their  line,  in  this  city,  this  work 
to  commence  right  away,  and  involving  a total  outlay  of  several  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  With  the  expenditures  of  the  Northern  Pacific,  the 
grand  aggregate  in  building  in  Tacoma  for  1888  is  over  $2,000,000. 

BANKING  BUSINESS. 

There  are  four  well  managed  and  prosperous  national  banks  in  this 
city.  Their  aggregate  capital  foots  up  $550,000,  their  total  deposits  (of 
the  four  banks)  are  $1,350,000,  and  their  undivided  surplus,  remaining 
over  or  accumulated  since  last  declaration  of  dividends,  is  $70,000.  Prob- 
ably no  city  of  its  size  is  as  well  and  fully  provided  for  in  banks  as  Taco- 
ma, while  a fifth  bank  with  $50,000  capaital,  with  resources  to  double  that 
amount,  will  open  as  soon  as  their  building  is  ready  for  occupancy.  These 
banks  have  studiously  avoided  the  loaning  of  money  for  speculative  or 
boom  purposes,  and  they  have  thus  kept  Tacoma  in  a continuous  healthy 
growth.  Some  of  the  shipping  and  lumber  interests  do  their  banking 
abroad  as  a matter  of  convenience. 

SHIP  BUIEDING. 

Tacoma  is  an  embryo  ship  building  point.  Here  is  secured  the  very 
choicest  lumber — especially  keels,  spars,  etc. — and  the  very  best  “knees” 
extant  are  cheaply  cut  out  of  these  forests.  The  first  ten  feet  above 
the  ground  of  these  fir,  pine  and  cedar  trees,  seem  to  grow  in  a twisted, 
knarled  and  stubbornly  strong  condition.  The  trees  are  cut  down,  leaving 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


93 


these  ten-foot  stumps,  as  it  requires  too  long  a time  to  chop  through  the 
twisted  buts.  A spring-board  platform  is  erected  for  choppers.  The  roots 
run  out  in  all  directions  and  above  ground,  so  that  naturally  bent  ‘ ‘knees’  ’ 
for  vessels  are  found  in  these  fresh  stumps  in  abundance,  and  the  frame 
work  for  vessels  are  cheaply  secured.  Repairing  boat  ways  are  occupied 
continuously,  as  many  vessels  disabled  at  sea  put  in  here  for  repairs. 
When  the  iron  manufactories  are  established,  Tacoma  can  build  as  dura- 
ble and  cheap  vessels  as  any  place  in  the  United  States. 


WITHIN  EIGHT  YEARS. 


Striking  Comparisons  Illustrating  the  Magic  Growth  of  Tacoma  Within 
Eight  Years. — Immense  Shipments  of  Wheat  to  Foreign  and  Coast- 
wise Points  from  Tacoma. — Another  Important  Factor  to  the  City  of 
the  Sound , Is  the  Abundance  of  Food  Fishes. — Thousands  of  Acres  of 
the  Choicest  Tillable  Lands  .Available  for  the  Settler. — An  Embryo 
Shipbuilding  Point. — A Climate  that  is  Surpassed  Nowhere. — A Re- 
capitulation.— Striking  Features  of  the  Wonderful  Growth  of  the  City 
of  the  Sound. — A Bright  Outlook. — Comparisons  and  Figures. 

Tacoma  had  720  population  in  1880,  and  15,000  is  a very  low  estimate 
of  her  present  population.  Her  assessed  valuation  in  1880  was  a half 
million  dollars.  To-day  this  valuation  is  $6,555,433.  The  miles  of  side- 
walk have  increased  from  two  in  ’80  to  fifty  in  ’88.  No  streets  existed 
then  save  a wagon  track  through  a few  stumps,  now  .thirty-five  miles  of 
streets  graded  in  1888,  added  to  former  streets,  gives  her  fifty  miles  of 
roadbed,  along  which  are  eight  public  school  buildings  and  colleges, 
twenty  churches,  twenty  hotels,  six  banks,  with  nearly  a million  and  a 
half  in  deposits,  one  of  the  largest  railroad  buildings  in  the  Northwest, ^ 
gas  works,  electric  lights,  twenty-five  miles  of  telephone  and  telegraph 
wires,  waterworks  with  twelve  miles  of  mains,  supplied  with  pure  water 
from  a fresh  water  lake,  that  is  conducted  through  an  aqueduct  eleven 
miles  long.  Nor  is  this  all,  for  along  this  fifty  miles  of  streets  are  five  saw 
mills,  three  shingle  mills,  three  planing  mills,  sash  and  door  factories,  one 
steam  flouring  mill  with  a capacity  of  one  hundred  barrels  per  day,  one 
tub  and  pail  factory,  one  fish  cannery,  three  foundries,  ten  blacksmith 
shops,  five  brick  yards,  one  spice  mill  and  two  soda  works,  one  railroad 
car  shop  soon  to  be  enlarged  to  four  times  its  present  size,  two  machine 
shops,  two  wheelwrights,  four  boat  builders  and  several  miles  of  street 
railroad  tracks  now  built;  also  a big  wholesale  grocery  house  that  would  do 
credit  to  Chicago,  and  added  to  all  this  are  five  hundred  business  houses 
located  along  the  line  of  five  parallel  streets,  with  cross  streets  twice  that 
number.  Who  can  say  that  Tacoma  has  not  grown  in  seven  years,  and 


94 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


who  can  foretell  the  growth  in  the  next  seven  years  ? She  starts  off  in  the 
ninety  days  of  1888 — to  date — with  about  four  hundred  new  houses  con- 
tracted for,  with  her  population  increasing — as  shown  by  postoffice  and 
free  delivery  record,  of  forty  new  families  per  day;  while  300  daily  new 
arrivals  are  here  to  investigate.  Everybody  is  busy;  the  unemployed  man 
in  this  city  is  the  lazy  man,  or  shiftless  one — as  there  is  work  for  all. 
Here  is  the  only  city  this  side  of  St.  Paul  whose  chamber  of  commerce 
owns  its  own  stately  block  and  whose  income  is  $7,000  per  year.  Here 
also  is  being  erected  an  immense  smelter  for  the  reduction  of  precious  ores, 
and  two  large  saw  mills  go  in  to  swell  the  list,  while  the  greatest  of  all 
great  enterprises  is  the  pending  iron  works,  to  commence  the  reduction  of 
these  mountains  of  iron.  Reader,  are  you  looking  for  a new  home?  If 
so,  regardless  of  your  occupation  and  business,  if  you  possess  thrifty  hab- 
its and  want  to  succeed — come  here.  If  you  are  penniless,  remember  that 
nothing  but  hard  labor  will  relieve  you,  and  you  had  better  earn  money 
where  you  are  than  come  here  without  it.  The  busy  people  have  no  time 
to  condole  with  unfortunate  people;  neither  is  this  or  any  country  espec- 
ially inviting  to  penniless  people.  The  present  population  here,  generally, 
came  here  poor;  yet  to-day  their  assessed  valuation  of  property,  their  bank 
deposits  and  bank  capital,  aggregated  together  and  then  divided  by  the 
number  of  population,  gives  each  man,  woman  and  child  a pro  rata  share 
of  $563.  Helena  is  quoted  as  being  the  richest  city  for  her  size  in  the 
world.  Her  pro  rata  division  was  $571  to  each  inhabitant.  Tacoma  is 
and  should  be  proud  of  her  past  record.  Washington  Territory  and  Am- 
erica at  large,  will  be  just  as  proud  of  her  future  record,  for  Tacoma  will 
be  the  largest  city  on  Puget  Sound,  and  will  have  100,000  population  in 
ten  years.  There  are  good  and  substantial  reasons  for  this  prediction. 
Tacoma  is  the  terminus  of  the  Northern  Pacific,  the  Oregon  Railway  and 
Navigation  trains  and  steamers,  the  Alaska  steamers,  all  Sound  steamers 
and  Central  Pacific  steamers.  It  is  the  terminus  of  the  China  and  Japan 
trade  proper,  the  center  of  coal,  iron  and  lumber  fields,  and  is  the  foreign 
shipping  point  for  all  produce  from  the  Missouri  river  to  the  Sound,  be- 
sides the  natural  reservoir,  with  obstructed  navigation  in  the  Columbia,  of 
the  surplus  products  of  the  Willamette  Valley  in  Oregon. 


WHEAT  SHIPMENTS. 


Shipments  of  Wheat  to  Foreign  and  Coastwise  Ports  From  Tacoma — 

Taken  From  Duluth. 


Duluth  has  enjoyed  the  monopoly  of  water  transportation  of  wheat 
raised  along  the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  until  the  past  year.  But 
things  are  changed  and  are  still  changing.  It  will  astonish  members  of 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


95 


the  board  of  trade  in  Chicago  and  St.  Paul  to  know  that  even  Oregon 
wheat  has  this  year  been  shipped  from  Portland  to  Tacoma,  thence  abroad. 
Wheat  raised  in  the  famous  Willamette  Valley  in  Oregon,  has  found  a 
market  via  Tacoma.  The  shipment  of  wheat  from  Tacoma  by  cargoes  has 
just  commenced,  and  the  future  will  demonstrate  that  all  the  surplus 
grain  from  the  Missouri  river  to  Tacoma,  including  the  Oregon  crop,  will 
yet  find  a market  from  here.  This  last  remark  is  most  easily  explained  by 
the  following  extract  and  comparison,  clipped  from  the  Oregonian,  Port- 
land’s most  valued  newspaper: 

On  the  1 8th  of  January,  the  ship  W.  F.  Babcock;  sailed  from  Tacoma 
with  the  largest  cargo  of  wheat  that  ever  left  Puget  Sound — 73,033  centals. 
Her  port  expenses  (not  including  advances  to  seamen)  were  as  follows: 


Towage  to  and  from  the  sea $300.00 

Custom  house  charges  . 70.00 

Discharging  ballast,  at  40  cents  a ton,  600  tons 240.00 

Dumber  for  lining  ship 205.00 

Dabor  for  lining  ship 100.00 

Stevedoring  3,260  tons  wheat  in  bags 978.00 

Water  at  Tacoma  26.25 

Broker’s  fees,  $2.50  per  man 30.00 

Surveyor’s  fees 30.00 

Total $2,059.25 

If  this  ship,  carrying  over  three  thousand  tons,  had  loaded  at  Portland,  her  expen- 
ses, at  the  specific  rate  charged  here,  would  have  been  as  follows: 

Bar  towage  (in  and  out $1,000 

Bar  pilotage  (in  and  out) 352 

River  towage  (up  and  down)  . . 400 

River  pilotage  (up  and  down 118 

Discharging  600  tons  ballast,  at  75  cents 450 

Dumber  for  lining 285 

Dabor  for  lining  100 

Doading  3,260  tons,  at  50  cents 1,630 

Dighterage,  not  less  than  1,400 

Broker’s  fees,  $15  per  man  240 

Surveyor’s  fees 30 

Custom  house  70 


Total  $6,075 


Here  we  have  a total  bill  for  loading  at  Portland,  of  $6,075,  against  a 
total  bill  for  loading  at  Puget  Sound  (Tacoma,)  of  $2,059.25.  In  several 
of  the  smaller  items,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  fees  are  larger  than  at  Puget 
Sound  (Tacoma).  Stevedoring  here  cost  50  cents  per  ton,  and  at  Tacoma 
only  30  cents;  to  discharge  ballast  here  costs  75  cents  per  ton,  there  40 
cents;  brokerage  for  supplying  sailors  costs  $15  per  man  here,  and  only 
$2.50  at  the  Sound;  but  it  is  not  these  smaller  items  that  make  the  con- 
trast. Towage,  pilotage  and  lighterage  here  would  cost,  for  a ship  like 
the  Babcock,  $3,270— at  the  Sound  $300.  Here  is  the  secret  of  the  cheaper 
ocean  rates  at  Puget  Sound  (Tacoma,)  and  the  corresponding  higher 
prices  for  wheat. 

It  was  up  to  about  the  close  of  1887,  that  Portland  enjoyed  the  ex- 
clusive monopoly  and  control  of  the  entire  wheat  shipping  interests  from 


96 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


the  agricultural  yields  of  Washington  Territory  and  Oregon.  An  experi- 
ment was  undertaken  by  chartering  the  ship  Persia,  to  load  wheat  at  Ta- 
coma for  Liverpool.  The  result  showed  a clear  saving  of  about  five  cents 
per  bushel  on  the  first  shipment  without  any  prior  arrangements  for  the 
experiment  in  favor  of  this  city.  Since  then,  seven  other  vessels  have 
been  loaded,  all  of  them  employed  since  Jan.  i,  1888.  Their  entire  car- 
goes footed  up  21,029  tons,  or  700,966  bushels,  an  average  for  each  vessel 
of  3,010  tons,  or  100,138  bushels.  A number  of  other  vessels  have  been 
chartered,  and  a conservative  estimate  places  the  probable  shipment  for 
1888  at  150,000  tons,  or  5,000,000  bushels.  The  yield  of  Washington 
Territory  alone  is  estimated  at  over  double  this  amount  of  1887.  The 
Northern  Pacific  Elevator  Company  have  shipped  about  50  per  cent,  of 
the  shipments  from  here. 


ANOTHER  GREAT  FACTOR. 


An  Abundance  of  Food  Fishes  in  Puget  Sound  and  Washington  Terri- 
tory.— Cost  of  Living  Lessened. — Canneries  Coming  In. 

The  arrival  on  this  coast  of  a part  of  the  Gloucester  fishing  fleet  this 
spring,  suggests  the  thought  that  the  food  fish  of  these  waters  will  consti- 
tute another  source  of  material  revenue  and  play  a conspicuous  part  in  the 
financial  resources  of  this  section.  The  great  abundance  of  fish  in  these 
waters  is  a blessing  to  its  inhabitants,  for  it  lessens  the  cost  of  living. 
The  most  abundant  fish  in  this  territory  are  the  salmon  in  Columbia  river. 
This  great  river  is  the  dividing  line  between  Oregon  and  Washinton,  and 
fish  canneries  are  on  both  sides  of  the  stream.  There  are  five  varieties  of 
salmon  found  here,  viz.,  Dog,  Humpback,  Silver,  Blue  Back,  Quinnat  or 
T’Quinnat — the  latter  being  the  Chinook  name  applied  to  the  best  of  these 
five  varieties.  The  legislature  of  this  territory  has  failed  to  create  a fish 
commission,  neither  are  there  any  official  statistics  of  the  fisheries  of  the 
territory.  Enough  is  known  to  establish  the  existence  of  the  better  varie- 
ties of  fish  in  quantities  sufficient  for  commercial  purposes.  Halibut 
abound  in  the  deeper  waters  of  the  Sound  and  are  taken  during  the  winter 
months.  The  absence  heretofore  of  fishermen  (with  fleets  and  parapher- 
nalia or  equipments)  acquainted  with  deep  sea  fishing,  or  catching  and 
curing  for  markets,  has  left  the  fisheries  dormant.  Unless  the  American 
fishermen  are  cheated  out  of  their  rights  by  diplomatic  acumen,  the  Glou- 
cester fleet  now  here  will  hunt  in  the  American  waters  of  the  Northern 
Pacific,  Behring  sea  and  the  Arctic  to  develop  these  fisheries.  That  they 
will  find  cod  banks  is  assured.  Cod  are  supposed  to  exist  along  the  Sound 
in  sufficient  quantities  to  pay  for  the  expense  of  the  catch,  and  the  next 
in  abundance  to  the  salmon  is  the  cod.  The  varieties  are  several — true 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


97 


cod,  sing  cod,  black  cod,  etc.,  possibly  a dozen  in  number.  These,  too, 
are  taken  in  deep  waters.  Fourteen  varieties  of  rock  fish,  from  the  “reg 
grouper”  of  forty  pounds  weight  to  the  small,  dark,  so-called  black  bass. 
Of  the  flat  fish  besides  the  halibut,  are  many  varieties  of  flounders — a fish 
the  Indians  are  fond  of.  These  are  very  plentiful.  Sturgeons,  the  fish 
that  Hudson  river  steamers  dote  on,  are  very  plentiful,  varying  in  size  from 
two  feet  to  six  and  eight  long.  The  Shell  fish  of  Puget  Sound,  comprise 
several  varieties.  Clams — some  “whoppers”  in  size,  are  very  plentiful  and 
being  gathered  by  the  Indians  are  very  cheap.  Crabs  are  the  same — plen- 
tiful and  large — but  the  oysters  on  this  coast  are  exceedingly  small  and 
flavored  different  from  Eastern  oysters,  but  are  exceedingly  good  eating. 
Lobsters  are  to  be  transplanted  by  the  dominion  government,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved will  soon  be  bountiful.  Canneries  are  increasing.  One  canning 
establishment  is  located  at  Tacoma.  The  future  will  develop  the  fisheries 
of  Puget  Sound  and  Tacoma  will  prove  a supply  depot  for  this  industry. 
For  information  on  this  subject  the  writer  is  deeply  indebted  to  Hon.  James 
G.  Swan,  connected  prominently  with  the  United  States  museum  and  fish 
commission. 


LANDS  FOR  SETTLERS. 


Thousands  of  Acres  of  the  Choicest  Public  and  Railroad  Lands  at  the 
Disposal  of  Prospective  Settlers. 


It  would  be  impossible  to  give  the  exact  location  of  Public  lands  sub- 
ject to  entry,  but  an  abundance  of  good  lands  are  in  this  country.  In  the 
Big  Bend  country,  Palouse,  Yakima  and  other  sections,  government  lands 
are  found.  Some  of  these  lands,  both  east  and  west  of  the  mountains,  are 
available  without  irrigation,  this  applying  wholly  to  the  lands  in  Western 
Washington.  Land  requiring  irrigation  is  easily  handled,  as  there  is  an 
abundant  and  never- failing  quantity  of  water  all  over  the  territory,  all  of 
these  streams  being  mountain  streams,  fed  by  springs  and  melted  snow. 
Where  small  colonies  go  in  together,  they  can  construct  ditches  by  their 
own  labor,  and  after  that,  a failure  is  simply  impossible,  one  remarkable 
feature  in  the  superiority  of  the  ‘ ‘sage  brush’  ’ lands  after  water  is  ditched 
on  to  them.  These  sage  brush  or  alluvial  sand  lands  are  the  very  choicest 
and  best  yielding  of  all  the  lands.  Throughout  the  Yakima,  Kittitas  and 
other  valleys,  the  yields  after  irrigation  are  so  immense  that  to  tell  of  them 
occasions  a doubt.  Forty  acres  of  such  land  would  outstrip  in  yield  two 
hundred  acres  in  Minnesota  or  Dakota.  As  to  fruits  and  vegetables  they 
grow  in  superabundance.  All  kinds  of  fruit  raised  in  any  but  a tropical 
climate  grow  in  these  valleys,  on  both  sides  of  the  mountains.  Anything 
but  oranges,  lemons,  figs,  etc. , can  be  found  and  of  most  excellent  flavor. 


98 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


At  a county  fair  in  Yakima,  some  of  the  vegetables  on  exhibition  weighed 
as  follows:  Potato,  6 % lbs.;  cabbage,  60  lbs.;  beet,  60  lbs.;  turnip,  58 
lbs.;  carrot,  20  lbs;  parsnip,  three  feet  long;  cauliflower,  measured  51  inches 
in  circumference.  Of  course,  these  were  ‘ ‘show  vegetables,  ’ ’ but  the  larg- 
est sized  vegetables  ever  seen  anywhere  by  the  writer  are  those  grown 
throughout  this  whole  territory,  and  they  are  as  good  as  they  are  big.  In 
the  article  on  “hops”  it  will  be  seen  that  ten  acres  of  the  timber  land, 
when  well  cleared,  will  yield  more  actual  money  to  the  owner  than  any  160 
acre  Dakota  farm  ever  yet  put  in  wheat.  The  Northern  Pacific  Railway 
is  fast  selling  its  lands.  The  following  list  of  Northern  Pacific  surveyed 
and  unsold  lands  is  given  for  the  information  of  the  new  home  seeker — 
who  requires  but  little  money  to  commense  with.  Of  this  list  about  54 
per  cent,  are  agricultural  lands,  15  per  cent,  timber,  and  the  balance 
mineral. 


County. 

Stevens 

Spokane .... 

Ivincoln 

Kittitas 
Snohomish . . 

King 

Whitman . . . 

Adams 

Garfield 
Columbia.  . . 
Walla  Walla 
Franklin . : . 
Klickitat 

Yakima 

Douglas 

Pierce  

Thurston . . . 

Dewis 

Cowlitz 

Clark 

Wahkiakum 

Pacific  

Chehalis.  . . . 
Mason 


Acres. 
205, 100 
198,105 
486,930 
412,080 
23,680 

125.880 

183,185 

517.840 
37,840 
83,830 

i45,56o 
370, 130^ 
352,160 
799,640 

679.880 
116,610 

89,930 

63,370 

84,040 

68,64 

13,100 

99,770 

170.840 
97,88o 


SOME  SHIPPING  STATISTICS. 


Proof  Positive  That  Tacoma  is  the  Largest  and  Most  Important  City  on 

Puget  Sound. 


The  following  correspondence  and  data  is  taken  from  the  columns  of 
the  Tacoma  Daily  Eedger,  holiday  number,  Jan.  1,  furnished  from  the  port 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


99 


of  entry  at  Port  Townsend.  These  figures  clearly  establish  the  writer’s 
claim  that  Tacoma  is  the  largest  and  most  important  city  on  Puget  Sound: 

Port  Townsend,  Dec.  31. — The  wheat,  coal  and  lumber  trade  from 
Puget  Sound  to  foreign  and  coastwise  ports  has  steadily  increased  during 
the  past  year.  In  fact,  in  the  past  three  years,  as  will  be  shown  by  the 
the  following  tables,  it  has  nearly  doubled  in  its  volume,  and  it  promises 
to  increase  in  the  same  ratio  in  the  future.  The  total  number  of  shipments 
of  wheat,  coal  and  lumber  made  in  1887  was  742,  an  increase  over  1886  of 
80  cargoes.  The  aggregate  tonnage  engaged  for  the  year  was  786,897, 
distributed  as  follows: 


Ports.  Tonage. 

Tacoma 247,477 

Seattle 246,711 

Port  Blakely 71,719 

Port  Gamble 6 1 , 85  2 

Port  Discovery 54,663 

Port  Hadlock 32,438 

Port  Madison 27, 287 

Port  Ludlow 24,078 

Utsalady > 20,672 


Total 


786,897 


There  were  114  cargoes  of  wheat  and  lumber  sent  to  foreign  ports, 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  33,937  sacks  of  wheat,  valued  at  $49,375, 
and  71,693,383  feet  of  lumber,  valued  at  $1,003,186.  Large  shipments 
were  made  by  sea  of  oats  and  other  produce  from  the  surrounding  country 
to  San  Francisco,  valued  at  $1,364,322.  Merchandise  to  the  value  of  $1,- 
000,000  was  shipped  from  the  Sound  north  on  Alaskan  steamers  during 
the  year.  The  British  ship  Persian  was  dispatched  from  Tacoma  for  Fal- 
mouth with  33,937  sacks  of  wheat,  valued  at  $49,375.  The  American 
ship  W.  F.  Babcock  also  loaded  3, 100  tons  wheat  in  Tacoma,  the  value  of 
which  is  not  included  in  this  statement,  as  well  as  the  British  four-masted 
ship  Wendur  and  the  ship  Reaper.  Recapitulation  of  value  of  shipments 
for  the  year: 


Lumber  to  foreign  ports 

Freight  money  for  same 

Lumber  coastwise 

Freight  money  for  same 

Coal  coastwise 

Freight  money  for  same 

Produce  shipped  to  San  Francisco 

Merchandise  to  Alaska 

Value  of  wheat  by  Persian 


$1,003,186 

860,328 

3,349,957 
1,289,445 
, 2,602,600 
1,301,300 
1,364,322 
, 1,000,000 
49,375 


Total 


$12,820,513 


IOO 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


AN  UNEQUALED  LOCATION. 


Tacoma  May  Boast  of  a Location  and  Shipping  Facilities  Superior  to 
Those  of  Any  Competitor. 


Either  wisdom,  fate,  intuition,  or  that  genius  which  foretells  greatness 
caused  the  location  of  the  present  town  site  of  the  city.  It  is  beyond  all 
cavil  the  very  best  location  on  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound,  being  at  the 
head  of  Commencement  Bay,  the  ground  on  which  the  city  rests  being  on 
an  available  and  commanding  hill-side,  at  once  and  forever  settling,  or 
solving  the  problem  of  sewage  for  a great  city,  and  yet  including  a vast 
area  of  acreage  of  low  level  land  contiguous  to  the  waters  of  the  Sound, 
thus  providing  without  artificial  recourse,  for  the  heavier  business  of  large 
cities.  There  is  a height  of  over  300  feet  from  the  water  front  to  the  top 
of  the  hillside.  Back  of  this  are  miles  of  magnificent  land  over  which  are 
roads  as  level  and  attractive  as  though  graded  by  the  hand  of  man  for  park 
purposes.  The  hillside  on  which  the  resident  portion  of  the  city  rests  is 
of  easy  approach,  lying  naturally  in  four  distinct  plateaus  or  handsome 
terraces,  which  has  enabled  the  city  authorities  to  build  the  most  attract- 
ively level,  broad  roadways,  graded  in  the  most  superior  manner,  with 
road  beds  as  even  as  block  pavement  and  as  hard  and  firm  as  macadam. 
Without  fear  of  contradiction  the  statement  is  offered  that  the  eleven  new 
streets  and  avenues  of  100  feet  wide  and  each  averaging  over  two  miles 
long  are  the  most  attractive  in  appearance  and  durable  of  any  streets  in 
any  city  in  the  whole  Union,  save  those  constructed  of  asphalt  or  wooden 
blocks.  So  far  as  the  natural  location  of  the  city  of  Tacoma  is  concerned, 
it  is  superior  to  that  of  St.  Paul  as  it  was  first  found,  and  less  expensive 
to  utilize  for  great  commercial  purposes.  And  as  to  beauty,  it  is  beyond 
comparison  in  perfection  to  any  city  in  the  whole  Northwest,  not  except- 
ing St.  Paul,  Helena,  Denver,  Portland  or  San  Francisco.  At  any  point 
in  the  city,  conspicuously  so  on  the  brow  or  crest  of  the  hillside,  the  view 
to  the  naked  eye  is  unsurpassed.  From  all  directions,  or  from  almost  any 
point  in  Tacoma  is  presented  a panoramic 

view  of  beauty 

that  thrills  the  soul  and  makes  glad  the  heart.  In  front  of  you  is  the  bay, 
with  its  sheet  of  tranquil,  placid  water  that  enlarges  in  unmeasured  ele- 
gance at  full  tide.  The  Sound  is  dotted  with  islands;  each  side  of  the  bay 
is  fringed  with  timber,  its  foliage  always  green,  but  in  springtime  or  mid- 
summer shaded  with  all  the  tints  of  nature’s  forests.  As  thrown  in  by 
the  hand  of  an  artist,  the  Puyallup  river,  replenished  hourly  by  the  melt- 
ing of  glaciers  on  the  crest  of  old  Mount  Tacoma,  meandering  among  the 
hills,  through  a distance  of  many  miles,  and  finally  emptying  its  waters 
along  the  front  of  the  city  into  Commencement  Bay.  Across  the  bay,  in 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


IOI 


fronts  to  the  right  and  left,  the  Olympian  and  Cascade  or  coast  ranges, 
snow-capped  and  commanding,  stretch  their  continuous  miles  of  wierd-like 
beauty,  as  an  everlasting,  but  never  wearying  sight,  while  the  monarchial 
monarch  of  towering  mountain  greatness  stands  the  cloud-capped  and 
snow-enveloped  Mount  Tacoma  reaching  heavenward  just  14,444  feet. 
Each  additional  gaze  seems  to  encounter  a more  delightful  view  during 
daylight,  and  in  the  bright  moonlight  this  wonderous  mountain  in  the 
soft  shimmering  light  stands  out  boldly  yet  softly  in  pose  as  an  artistic 
tableau.  Nor  is  this  mountain  alone.  Mount  St.  Helens,  9,750  feet  high, 
and  Mount  Adams  and  Mount  Baker,  almost  as  high,  can  be  seen  at  times. 
For  scenic  effect  no  spot  is  peer  to  this.  A natural  park,  with  roadbeds 
of  clean,  bright  gravel,  and  land  as  level  as  a floor,  interspersed  at  fre- 
quent intervals  with  groves  of  evergreen  trees  that  have  grown  (the  lower 
limbs  resting  on  the  ground)  to  the  top  in  pyramidal  shape  so  accurate, 
regular  and  perfect  as  to  suggest  careful  cultivation  and  training.  This 
park  is  twelve  miles  in  length  and  two  to  six  miles  wide.  At  a distance 
of  almost  equi-regularity  handsome  fresh  water  lakes  with  grass-grown 
and  tree-bedecked  shores  are  located,  while  sparkling,  rippled  creeks  or 
rivulets  cross  and  'recross  this  plain  or  prairie,  producing  an  effect  as 
charming  and  pleasing  as  that  of  Central  Park,  New  York.  This  natu- 
ral park  commences  just  outside  of  the  city  limits  of  Tacoma  and  runs 
southerly,  but  parallel  to  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound,  terminating  a few 
miles  below  an  old  government  fort  (now  the  location  of  the  insane 
asylum  of  Washington  Territory)  established  in  1852,  namely,  Fort  Steil- 
acoom,  the  first  military  post  or  fort,  it  is  reported,  at  which  Gen.  U.  S. 
Grant  did  duty. 

a deeightfue  ceimate. 

Each  locality  in  the  West  and  Northwest  boasts  of  its  weather  until 
the  average  reader  is  surfeited  and  doubts.  The  climate  of  this  section  is 
as  near  perfection  as  anywhere  on  this  continent.  No  place  or  country  is 
wholly  exempt  from  objections.  But  for  all  the  year  round,  weather  in 
Washington  really  takes  the  palm.  Eastern  people  imagine  that  the 
‘ ‘ rainy  ’ ’ season  commences  here  with  their  frost,  and  that  it  pours  down 
in  torrents.  It  does  no  such  thing.  There  are  more  pleasant  dry  days  than 
wet.  As  to  the  rain,  it  is  of  that  character,  temperature  and  quantity  in 
which  boys  are  delighted  in  being  outdoors,  somewhat  as  they  are  when 
they  attempt  to  catch  the  first  falling  snow  flakes  in  winter.  A cruelly 
mistaken  notion  prevails  as  to  the  severity  of  this  rainfall.  There  is 
enough  of  it  to  keep  the  grass  eternally  green,  and  not  so  chilly  as  to  pre- 
vent the  ever-constant  blooming  of  flowers  outdoors  every  month  in  the 
year.  Talk  about  the  coast  rains.  They  are  not  to  be  dreaded  one-half 
as  much  as  the  rigorous  weather  of  neighboring  territories  and  states. 
People  here  continue  to  do  business  uninterrupted,  and  where  one  man  is 


102 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


under  the  shelter  of  an  umbrella,  a dozen  are  without  them.  It  may  strike 
the  reader  as  singular  that  you  positively  see  a hundred  umbrellas  day  in 
and  out  on  the  streets  throughout  the  East,  to  five  on  the  streets  of 
Tacoma.  Neither  is  it  on  the  shoemaker  order  of  going  bare-footed,  for 
they  are  not  needed.  There  is  more  mud  on  the  streets  of  a busy  Illinois 
village  in  springtime  than  there  is  here  the  year  round.  Why  it  is,  some 
philosopher  must  explain,  but  it  is  supposably  because  these  rains  do  not 
wet  very  badly.  Whatever  inconvenience  is  experienced  by  the  inclemency 
of  the  rainy  months  is  offset  by  the  incomparably  lovely  summers. 
The  law  of  compensation  is  divinely  set  forth  in  these  two  seasons,  for 
here  the  temperature  is  uniformly  just  warm  enough  in  summer  to  make 
good  growing  weather  without  extreme  heat.  A shorter  explanation  and 
better  one  is  in  the  statement  that  the  same  wearing  apparel  in  winter  as 
in  summer.  The  summers  are  simply  delightful.  Daylight  continues  un- 
til 9:30  p.  m.,  and  resumes  again  at  about  2:30  to  3 a.  m.  It  is  a contin- 
uous round  of  bracing  yet  satisfying  weather  that  is  the  source  of  hourly 
congratulations.  While  other  localities  are  sweltering  in  the  heat,  this 
city  is  enjoying  the  coolest  and  most  delightful  weather.  The  following  is 
a copy  of  the  thermometric  record  as  kept  at  “The  Tacoma”  last  summer: 


juia,  1887. 


6 a.  m. 
12  noon 


Mean  temperature  for  month,  65 y2  deg. 

AUGUST. 


Highest. 

Lowest. 

. 67  deg. 

5i  deg. 

. 76  deg. 

63  deg. 

.76  deg. 

60  deg. 

. 68  deg. 

54  deg. 

. 86  deg. 

64  deg. 

. 82  deg. 

62  deg. 

.62  deg. 

44  deg. 

.71  deg. 

5i  deg. 

.63  deg. 

55  deg. 

ocean  craft  that 

Mean  temperature  for  August,  69^. 

SEPTEMBER. 

j a.  m 

> noon 

j p.  m 

Mean  temperature  for  September,  57 

PUGET  SOUND  STEAMERS. 


reach  this  port  daily,  on  which  last  year  was  shipped  377  cargoes  of  lum- 
ber, 251  cargoes  of  coal,  besides  innumerable  vessels  carrying  oats,  wheat, 
hops  and  other  products,  even  to  horses  and  cattle,  there  are  twenty-two 
regular  passenger  and  freight  steamers  plying  from  this  port  to  various 
points  on  Puget  Sound,  California  and  British  Columbia.  Several  new 
vessels  are  in  course  of  construction  to  accommodate  the  rapidly  increasing 
business.  Most  of  the  sound  steamers  make  daily  trips,  while  a weekly 
service  of  passenger  and  freight  steamships  ply  between  Tacoma  and  San 
Francisco,  one  freight  steamship  of  4,000  tons  burden  making  the  round 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


103 


trip  every  ten  days  between  the  two  ports.  The  passenger  steamers 
bring  in  an  average  of  over  2,200  passengers  weekly.  Besides  this,  there 
are  a dozen  tugs,  used  in  towing  logs,  also  vessels  after  disembarking 
ballast,  or  from  anchorage  to  wharves.  Two  of  the  largest  of  these  tugs 
are  owned  wholly  by  Tacoma  parties.  Any  point  on  the  Sound  or  Pa- 
cific coast  is  accessible  almost  daily  by  steamers,  and  a regular  line  of 
Alaska  steamers  make  their  terminus  here.  The  bulk  of  Alaska  freight 
and  passengers  embark  and  disembark  at  Tacoma. 

increased  raieway  business. 

Perhaps  nothing  would  show  the  increase  in  the  business  of  Tacoma 
more  than  the  fact  that  in  February,’  1887,  there  were  twenty-nine  men 
employed  by  the  traffic  agent  of  the  Northern  Pacific  in  this  city,  while  in 
February,  1888  there  were  seventy-two  men  who  found  regular  daily  em- 
ployment under  the  same  agent. 

IMPROVEMENTS. 

The  visitor  to  Tacoma  sees  active  industry  and  improvements  on  all 
sides.  Targe  numbers  of  laborers  are  found  at  work  extending  and  grad- 
ing the  streets  of  the  city  and  improving  them  with  twelve-foot  sidewalks 
on  either  side,  and  making  the  finest  thoroughfares  to  be  found  in  any 
town  or  city  on  Puget  Sound.  The  city  council  has  recently  undertaken 
the  further  improvement  of  the  graded  streets  by  causing  to  be  planted 
thereon,  forest  trees,  many  of  which  are  varieties  brought  from  the  east. 
Large  sums  of  money  are  now  being  expended  in  properly  sewering  the 
city,  thus  contributing  to  the  health  and  convenience  of  its  citizens.  As 
indicating  the  amount  of  building  now  in  progress  at  Tacoma,  it  may  be 
noted,  that  from  January  1st  to  May  23,  there  have  been  constructed  at 
Tacoma,  three  hundred  and  fifty  buildings,  aggregating  in  their  cost  $825- 
307.46.  Among  the  large  industries  recently  acquired  by  the  city  is  a mill 
to  be  constructed  on  the  water  front  this  year  at  a cost  of  upwards  of  a 
half  million  dollars  and  which  will  manufacture  every  piece  of  timber  re- 
quired in  the  building  of  the  frame  structure.  The  product  of  this  mill  is 
for  shipment  to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  in  connection  with  the  mill, 
the  contract  made  by  the  mill  company  with  the  railroad  company,  re- 
quires the  construction  of  a railroad  southeast  from  Tacoma  into  the  great 
timber  belt  from  which  the  company  are  to  obtain  their  timber.  It  has 
been  reliably  estimated  that  the  location  of  this  mill  at  Tacoma  will  add  to 
its  population  during  the  year  1888,  at  least  twenty-five  hundred  people. 
The  extension  of  the  standard  guage  railroad  down  the  water  front  has 
been  effected  by  Allen  C.  Mason,  Esq.,  who  has  during  the  spring,  con- 
structed that  road  himself.  This  road  will  be  operated  by  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  as  a part  of  their  system  if  it  is  not  purchased 
outright  by  them.  This  railroad  opens  up  the  best  water  frontage  of  the 
city  and  the  only  water  front  owned  by  private  citizens.  The  above  named 


104 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


gentleman  has  announced  his  intention  to  construct  a line  of  street  rail- 
road from  the  city  dock  in  the  first  ward  of  the  city  by  the  most  practicable 
route  to  the  smelters,  and  this  street  railroad  when  constructed  will  open 
for  settlement  the  very  finest  residence  portion  of  the  city.  One  of  the 
chief  attractions  which  Tacoma  can  offer  in  the  course  of  a few  years  is 
the  natural  park,  consisting  of  upwards  of  six  hundred  acres  located  on 
the  point  of  the  peninsula  on  which  Tacoma  is  located.  A bill  is  before 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  now,  providing  that  the  United  States 
Government  will  dedicate  this  track  of  land,  now  held  by  the  government 
as  a military  reserve,  to  the  city  forever,  to  be  used  as  a public  park  and 
never  alienated  by  the  city.  A broad  boulevard  has  been  surveyed  from 
the  city,  to,  and  through  this  park  which  will  afford  one  of  the  finest 
drives,  overlooking  the  bay  and  the  narrows  throughout  its  whole  ex- 
tent. The  construction  of  the  shore  line  railroad,  insures  the  completion 
this  year  of  the  large  smelting  works,  which  will  have  a capacity  of  four 
hundred  tons  per  day,  and  be  the  only  smelting  works  on  Puget  Sound. 
Among  other  industries  not  yet  definitely  located  here,  but  yet  which  prob- 
ably will  be  during  the  coming  summer,  are  extensive  export  flouring  mills, 
a brewery  and  various  iron  industries.  The  contract  has  already  been  let  by 
the  Tacoma  Opera  House  Company,  for  an  opera  house  to  cost  one  hund- 
red thousand  dollars  with  a seating  capacity  for  twelve  hundred  people. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


105 


TACOMA  RETAIL  MARKET  PRICES. 

APRIL  1st,  1888. 


HARDWARE. 


N ails  p keg,  from  1 od  to  6od$ 

3-50 

do  do  lathing,  3d  fine 

8.00 

do  do  finishing 

4-50 

do  P It).,  retail  

5 

Iron,  refined  bar,  fR),... 

3/4@  6 

Iron,  Norway,  | R)  

5X@  7 

Steel,  refined  bar,  P lb . . . 

16 

@ 18 

Horseshoes,  P lb 

5 

@ 7 

Hoop  iron,  P hi 

7)4 

Axes,  handled. 

1. 00 

@1.75 

Hatchets  

50 

@1.25 

Door  locks,  P doz 

3-50 

18.00 

Butts,  common  door,P  doz. 
Strap  hinges,  P pair 

75 

@2.00 

15 

@ 75 

Grindstones,  p lb 

3/4 

Sash  Weights,  p lb  

Shovels  and  spades 

75 

@1.35 

Cross-cut  saws,  P foot. 

50 

@1.00 

Hand-saws,  each  

75 

@2.00 

Screws,  P gross 

15 

@2.00 

Picks  and  Mattocks,  each. 

1. 00 

@1.50 

Powder,  p hi 

25 

@1.00 

Shot,  p hi 

10 

@ 15 

Rope,  p hi 

15 

@ 25 

Cot  rope  & seine  twine,  p lb 

35 

@ 50 

Axle  grease,  p box 

Lard  oil,  P gallon 

23 

@ 50 

85 

@1.50 

Belting,  3-in.  single  P foot 

33 

Belting,  6-in.  single  p foot 

69 

Belting,  8-in.  single  p foot 

93 

Rubber  packing,  |R)  .. 

30 

GROCERIES. 

Eastern  lard,  P lb 

California  lard,  p fb 

io>4 

Cheese,  p lb 

20 

Butter,  P lb 

15 

@j  35 

Dried  apples,  P lb 

15 

Dried  peaches,  P lb 

15 

@ 20 

Soda,  p h> 

8 

@ 10 

Java  coffee,  P lb 

25 

@ 30 

Costa  Rica,  p lb 

16 

@ 25 

Rio  coffee,  P lb 

16 

@ 25 

Tea,  p lb. , best  family. . . . 

35 

@1.00 

Crushed  sugar,  P lb 

7 

Granulated  sugar  P lb . . . . 

7 

Salt,  p lb  

1 

@ 2 

Rice,  P lb  

6 

@ 8 

Candles,  p box 

2.50 

@'3-5° 

Soap,  P box 

50 

@2.25 

Kerosene,  P case 

2.50 

Arbuckle  coffee,  p lb . . . . 

25 

Assort,  table  fruits,  2 J^Ibcan 

25 

Assort,  pie  fruits,  P can . . 

20 

Canned  vegetables 

12  >4@  20 

Prunes,  P hi 

15 

@ 20 

Currants,  P lb 

10 

Raisins,  Valencia 

20 

Raisins,  seedless  

20 

Corned  beef,  2-lb  cans 

25 

Baking  p’der,  Royal,  16-oz. 
Bakingp’der,  Pi’n’r,  16-oz. 

50 

50 

Syrup,  maple,  P gallon.  .$1.25  @1.50 

Syrup,  P gallon . 

75  @1.00 

Candy,  stick,  p h) 

15 

Candy,  mixed,  P hi  . . . 

20 

Spices,  4-oz.  cans,  assorted 

15  @ 25 

Chicory,  p hi 

12 

Buckets,  cedar,  painted . . . 

25  @ 40 

Wash  tubs,  ac’rding  to  size 

25  @2.00 

Peas,  split,  p lb 

8 @ 10 

Beans,  p lb.  

3 @ 5 

Pearl  barley,  tapioca,  sago, 

p hi 

8 @ 10 

PRODUCE. 

Wheat,  P cwt 

1.20  @1.75 

Oats,  p cwt 

1.50  @1.80 

Barley,  P cwt 

1.50  @1.60 

Potatoes,  p hi 

Flour,  p bbl 

4-73  @5-50 

Chickens,  p dozen 

3.00 

Onions,  p hi 

5 

Hams,  p hi 

16  @ 18 

Shoulders,  P hi 

10 

Bacon,  p hi 

10  @ 12% 

Eggs,  fresh,  p dozen 

20 

Hay,  P ton ; 

20.00  @25.00 

Chop  barley,  p cwt 

1.50  @ 1.75 

MEAT. 

Beef,  p hi  

12 /4@>  20 

Mutton,  p hi . . . 

10  @ 16 

Pork,  p hi 

I2>^@  16 

Veal,  p hi 

12  >£@  20 

Venison,  p hi 

IO  @ 15 

Corijed  beef,  p lb  

IO  @ 12^ 

Pickled  pork,  p lb 

i2/4  @1  16 

Sausage,  p hi 

l6  @ 20 

Bologna,  p lb  . ... 

l6  @ 20 

Lamb,  P lb . . 

I2/4@  16 

HIDES  AND  SKINS. 


Heavy  steer,  (over  55,)  P lb 

7 

@ 

8 

Med’m  steer,  (48@5o,)pib 

6 

Light  steer,  (4o@48, ) p lb 

7 

@ 

8 

Kips 

Dairy  calf,  according  to 

7 

@ 

8 

quality  and  weight,  each 

50 

@ 

65 

Dry  hides,  as  to  quality . . 

12 

@ 

15 

Sheep  pelts,  as  to  quality . 

15 

@1.00 

LUMBER. 

Dressed  Lumber — All  dressed  fir  lum- 
ber, including  flooring  and  rustic,  $16  P 
M first  class;  second  class,  $ 13.00. 

Rough  Fir — No.  1,  $8@9;  culled,  $6@7. 
Cedar — No.  1 dressed.  $20  to  $30;  rough, 

f9lM. 

Laths — $2.25  p M. 

ShingeES — No.  1,  $2.25;  No.  2,  none. 

The  above  are  the  prices  of  lumber  de- 
livered. 


CIRCULAR  OF  INFORMATION 


AND 


Annual  Statement 


FROM  THE  OFFICE  OF 


ALLEN  C.  MASON, 

Negotiator  of  Real  Estate  Loans, 


MASON  BLOCK, 


TACOMA,  WASHINGTON  TERRITORY 


FOR  THE  YEAR  ENDING 

APRIL  1st, 
1888. 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


IO9 


OFFICE  OF 

AEEEN  C.  MASON. 
Negotiator  of  Real  Estate  Eoans, 
Tacoma,  Wash.  Ter. 


FOURTH  ANNUAL  STATEMENT 

For -the  Year  Ending  April  ist,  1888. 


Total  amount  of  money  loaned  to  date $935,936- 5& 

Number  of  loan  made  to  date 1,206.00 

Average  size  of  loans.  . . 776.06 

Largest  loan 20,000.00 

Smallest  loan 50. 00 

Time  of  longest  loan * 7 years. 

Time  of  shortest  loan 6 months. 

Average  length  of  loan ' 3 yrs.  4 mo. 

Number  of  foreclosure  from  June  ist,  1883,  to  date. 6 

Amount  involved  in  foreclosures ...  $9,600.00 

Loss  sustained  by  mortgages  consequent  on  foreclosures o 

Number  of  farm  loans 636 

Number  of  city  loans 570 

Amount  of  interest  paid  through  the  office  for  the  year  preceding 

April  ist,  1888 . 168,902.61 

Number  of  loans  outstanding  April  ist,  1888 1,012 

Number  of  loans  matured  and  paid  at  maturity. 194 

Amount  of  loans  now  outstanding 1716,363.58 

Amount  of  loans  having  matured  and  been  paid.  ....  1219,573.00 

Estimated  value  of  securities  covered  by  outstanding  loans . $2,807,809.74 

Interest  collected  and  remitted  to  eastern  investors  since  June  ist,  1883...  162,766.61 

Amount  of  money  loaned  in  each  county  of  Washington  Territory  up  to  April  ist,  1888, 

Pierce $682,572.58 

King 72,780.00 

Whatcom 45,365.00 

Chehalis 28,430.00 

Thurston 24,845.00 


I IO 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY  AND  TACOMA. 


Snohomish . . . 

Lewis 

Spokane 

Skagit 

Columbia 

Mason 

Cowlitz 

Whitman 

Kitsap ...... 

Yakima 

Island 

Lincoln  .... 

Stevens 

Jefferson 

Garfield 


23.267.00 

18.725.00 

9.400.00 

6.000. 00 

5.800.00 

5.485.00 

4.217.00 

2.000. 00 

1.600.00 

1.500.00 
1,500.00 

1.000. 00 

700.00 

500.00 

250.00 


The  following  table  shows  the  states  from  which  investment  funds  have  been  received 
with  the  respective  amounts  from  each,  up  to  April  1st,  1888. 


Alabama 

California . 

Canada 

Colorado  

Connecticut 

Dakota 

Delaware 

District  Columbia.  . . . 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa  

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts  

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Missouri 

New  Hampshire 

New  Jersey 

New  Mexico 

New  York 

North  Carolina 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington  Territory 

Wisconsin 

Texas 

Florida 


$ 4,000.00, 

26.750.00 

8.360.00 

26.509.00 
42,932.  oo 

750.  oo 

4.500.00 

2.500.00 

30.575.00 

28.395.00 

4.489.00 

2.800.00 

2.800.00 

27.100.00 

1 1.005.00 

15.200.00 

2.475.00 
16,000.00 
6r,  795.00 

5,000.00 

436,397- 00 

7.865.00 

28.450.00 

2.800.00 

46.995.00 

17. 700.00 
500.00 

55,432.58 

8.262.00 

3.800.00 
3,800.00 


Grand  Total 


$935,936.58 


• ■ • H ® ■ • 


THE  safest  of  all  investments  are  Real  Estate  Mort- 
* gages  on  improved  productive  property  at  con- 
servative valuations. 

Washington  Territory  affords  investments  of  this 
character  second  to  none. 

The  test  rate  obtainable  on  Real  Estate  Loans 
running  from  three  to  five  years  is  now  Nine  per 
cent.,  and  in  one  or  two  years,  as  the  advantages  of 
the  Territory  become  more  generally  known,  this  rate 
will  be  reduced,  as  it  has  been  in  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley. Those  who  are  investing  now  are  reaping 

THE  BENEFIT  OF  THE  HIGHEST  MARKET  RATE. 

Borrowers  here  pay  their  interest  as  promptly  as 
those  do  who  live  in  the  East. 

Allen  C.  Mason. 


■ • 


a 


© 


9 


9 


A.  solid  Nine  per  cent,  per  annum  on  first 
class  improved  productive  Real  Estate  se- 
curity at  one-third  its  valuation.  Interest 
pay cdole  semi-annually,  net,  by  New  Fork 
ctraft  in  favor  of  the  mortgagee,,  and  all  in- 
terest payments  collected  and  remitted  to 
the  loaner  without  cost  or  charge  to  him. 

Absolute  Security — the  realty  on  which 
the  loans  are  placed  being  in  a new  country 
where  property  is  increasing  in  value,  and 
where  titles  have  not  coirte  down  through 
scores  of  transfers  where  there  is  tictble  to 
be  imperfections  in  conveyances. 

For  full  particulars  address 

ALLEN  C.  MASON, 

Negotiator  of  Real  Estate  Loans, 


TACOMA , W.  T. 


